Clock ticks down on super committee

Washington (CNN) -- Members of Congress's so-called super committee huddled in small groups behind closed doors on Capitol Hill Friday, battling growing pessimism and a now-imminent deadline to reach agreement on a seemingly elusive bipartisan deficit reduction deal.
At least seven of the panel's 12 members, evenly split between Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, need to agree on savings of at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade. In reality, however, the time line is even shorter. Under the law creating the committee, any proposal must be made public and evaluated for its fiscal impact by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office no later than Monday.
"Time is running out," panel members Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, each told CNN Friday morning.
"We're here. We're working. We're talking," Toomney added. "It's difficult, but it's still possible."
If the committee beats the clock, Congress will have one month -- until December 23 -- to vote on the deal, which cannot be amended.