With record spending and deficits come calls for reform. Entrenched political problems, however, make spending reform easier said than done. Independent commissions are often suggested as a way to tackle intractable political problems, but not all congressionally created commissions are the same. The Base Realignment and Closing (BRAC) commissions of the late ’80s and early ’90s were remarkably successful because of their peculiar structures, not simply because they were commissions. They worked because no member of Congress ever had to vote for shutting down any particular military base. A spending commission could curb discretionary spending successfully, but only if it embodies the lessons of BRAC. That means not just creating a commission, but making sure it is composed of independent members whose recommendations become binding without congressional action.