Supercommittee offers no signs of deal

Don't expect the first news you hear today out of the supercommittee to be encouraging.

As members of the 12-person bipartisan committee, which is tasked with creating a plan to make $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts, made the media rounds on the Sunday talk shows, no one offered signs that a deal is imminent.

Read "What you need to know about the supercommittee" here.

"Reality is to some extent starting to overtake hope," Co-chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) said on "Fox News Sunday." "But there were 12 good people who invested a lot in this trying to find common ground to try to achieve the goal of this committee," he added. "Nobody wants to give up hope."

"It's still possible to reach an agreement but it's gonna be tough given where the clock is," Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) said on CBS News' "Face the Nation"

Members blamed the opposing party for the stalemate--with Republicans such as Toomey saying Democrats' unwillingness to cut "any type of spending at all" is freezing negotiations while Democrats blamed Republicans' hard line against tax increases and revenues as the major sticking point.

"I'll tell you one of the problems has been a pledge that too many Republicans took to a Republican wealthy lobbyist by the name of Grover Norquist, whose name has come up in meetings time and time again," co-chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said on CNN's "State of the Union" in reference to a pledge issued by Norquist's group "Americans for Taxpayer Reform" to oppose any and all tax increases.

CNN reported Monday morning that members have begun strategizing how to announce their failure to reach a solution instead of erring on the side of an agreement.

"No decisions or agreement has been reached concerning any announcement or how this will end. But, yes, the likely outcome is no agreement will be reached," a senior Democratic source told CNN.

The panel must produce a plan Monday night in order to submit it to the Congressional Budget Office for 48 hours of vetting prior to holding a vote on the proposal on their Nov. 23 deadline. If no deal is reached, automatic cuts will be triggered Dec. 23 to take effect in January.

Other popular Yahoo! News stories:

• What you need to know about the supercommittee

• Herman Cain and the Holy Land Experience

• First Lady booed at NASCAR race

Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.