Budget Poses Test for New GOP Majorities

Wall Street Journal: “Republicans, in full control of Congress for the first time since 2006, roundly panned President Obama ’s $4 trillion budget proposal last week for going heavy on tax increases and light on efforts to trim the deficit. But while Republicans’ top budget-writers have committed to eliminating the annual federal budget deficit over 10 years, doing so is expected to require deep cuts in entitlement programs, particularly if tax increases are off the table.”

“That means the GOP will face a challenge negotiating a budget conservative enough to pass the House without proposing politically unpopular cuts that could cause heartburn for Senate Republicans, whose states often represent a broader political spectrum. Democrats in either chamber are unlikely to provide many, if any, votes for a budget used to map out GOP goals.”