Obama to issue order for deficit commission within 10 days

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said President Obama will issue an executive order in the next 10 days to create a commission that would make recommendations to Congress on how to lower the deficit.

"The snow got us a little off track," Gibbs said.

The commission was part of a plan hatched by Democratic leaders and the White House to win the support of about 14 Democrats for a $1.9 trillion increase in the debt ceiling, which Congress passed this month.

Democratic leaders have pledged to hold a vote on the panel's recommendations, with the Senate moving first. The panel's proposals are expected to be submitted to Congress after the November elections, so Congress can act on them before the end of the year, panel supporters have said.

The commission is expected to have 18 members, including six lawmakers appointed by congressional Democrats and six lawmakers appointed by congressional Republicans. Obama would appoint six others, only four of whom could be Democrats. Fourteen commission members would have to agree on any deficit-reduction plan. The White House has been trying to reach out to Republicans, but they have been critical of the presidential panel, and it is unclear whether they will participate.

Last week, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, raised concerns with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner about the commission, which would recommend potential cuts in federal spending and tax increases.

"The president's fiscal commission proposal is nothing more than a partisan Washington exercise rigged to impose massive tax increases and pass the buck on the tough choices we need to be making right now," Boehner said in a statement after he talked with Geithner.