In her recent column, Ruth Marcus, of The Washington Post declared:

“Don’t call me a deficit hawk. Call me a deficit panda.”

Seeking a cuddlier image for the mantle of fiscal responsibility, she continues:

Update: Adam Looney of The Hamilton Project participated in today's chat in place of Bill Frenzel - still a very interesting read, check it out below!

Today at 12:30pm, former Congressman Bill Frenzel will be participating in a live chat to answer questions about the on-going budget negotiations. David Mark, senior editor at Politico, will moderate the discussion.

On Friday, a panel discussion between Democratic and Republican staff directors of the House Budget Committee and CRFB president Maya MacGuineas focused on current budget negotiations and the likelihood of a government shutdown next week after the current CR expires on Friday March 4. Maya MacGuineas argued that lawmakers likely will not have time to agree on a solution in time to avoid a government shutdown.

In a recent article, the Washington Post reported that federal, local, and state debt levels -- including the intergovernmental debt the government owes to itself through various trust funds --  will reach a level that hasn't been seen since immediately following WWII by year's end.

Luckily, after World War II, we were able to in part grow our way out of the debt. As the article explains, though, we face a far different situation today. It says:

Last night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart spent part of the episode talking about our favorite topic: how to fix the federal budget. Needless to say, the show's suggestions were pretty hilarious.

Click here to check it out or watch below:

The New York Times today had another round of expert debate on President Obama's budget. CRFB President Maya MacGuineas was featured.

With the release of the President's FY 2012 budget proposal earlier today, the Washington Post is hosting an online Q&A session on the issue with CRFB's very own Policy Director, Marc Goldwein. It will be taking place at 12:30pm today -- be sure to ask questions!

Click here to join the discussion!

CRFB would like to congratulate Trudy Givens of Portage, Wisconsin - the 2010 SAVE Award winner!

Congressional leaders have agreed to reappoint Doug Elmendorf as the director of the Congressional Budget Office. Mr. Elmendorf, who has been the director of CBO since 2009, was officially reappointed to the position today by Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and the Senate President Pro Tempore Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI).

Dr. Christina Romer, the former chairwoman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, published an article in the New York Times this weekend calling for President Obama to use his January 25th State of the Union address as a means to outline a credible plan to lower future budget deficits.

Dr. Romer, who left the administration last August, is calling for the deficit to be given significant focus.