The next round has begun in Congress' long-running partisan fiscal fight. The focus now is a fiscal 2014 budget resolution. House Republicans and Senate Democrats have advanced sharply differing budget frameworks. Narrowing the wide gaps will be tough, particularly with blasts of criticism flying from both sides.
At ENR press time, the House was close to passing a measure that Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) says would trim outlays by $4.6 trillion over 10 years, compared with current estimated fiscal-policy levels, and erase the federal deficit by 2023.