Republican Alan Simpson and Democrat Erskine Bowles told a meeting of the National Governors Association on Sunday that everything needs to be considered - including curtailing such popular tax breaks as the home mortgage deduction.
They say that without radical changes, debt will destroy the country like a cancer.
The 18-member commission Simpson and Bowles head is charged with coming up with a plan by Dec. 1 to reduce the government's annual deficits to 3 percent of the national economy by 2015.
The nation's total federal debt next year is expected to exceed $14 trillion - about $47,000 for every U.S. resident.
