Will it Take a Cold Day in Hades?

Right now, we need another ice storm to come through Washington, D.C. It appears that the cold reality of winter actually helped lawmakers finally focus on the cold reality of our staggering deficit and need for real budget reform.

When an ice storm socked the nation's capital earlier this year, more than 40 senators showed up for what was billed as a "policy-heavy" briefing on deficit reduction. Essentially trapped, almost half of the Senate engaged in a true bipartisan conversation on the need for serious budget and deficit action to address the root of the problem our nation faces -- overspending.

Here is what was quietly acknowledged, if not agreed upon: budget and spending reforms have to be widespread and encompassing; the sacred cows of the past may have to go on leaner diets; and members of both parties, as well as the White House, should expect to take political heat for tough choices that must be made.

There is also a quiet but steady murmur among many members that the issue is no longer whether to cut spending, but what to cut.

Talk is good. Now Washington must act. The American people are ready and waiting. Perhaps a detailed "how-to" checklist would help jumpstart their efforts.

According to a March CBS poll, nine out of 10 Americans call the deficit a serious problem, with 7 out of 10 saying it is very serious. Oh -- and they strongly disapprove of how Congress and the White House are handling our deficit problem.

For hard working Americans, this is not about politics. It's about their life and putting our economy and our nation first. The American people have a right to a fact-based conversation on the budget, an end to budget gimmicks, and an end to spending money we simply don't have.

A fact-based conversation is the first part of the checklist to budget sanity and halting deficit spending. There are some other imperatives on that list as well.

Both the Republican controlled House and the Democratic controlled Senate must significantly reform spending throughout the entire budget. This, of course, includes real reform to sacred cows.

This checklist would also require Congress act now and act together to ensure that we protect Medicare and Social Security for current beneficiaries and preserve these entitlements for future generations. Recently, the Blue Dog Coalition announced benchmarks for fiscal reform, and the House Republican budget has been receiving credit for its courageous, comprehensive approach from pundits, economists, and even politicians across the political spectrum.

Cold weather, however, is not in the forecast for the nation's capital and the budget bickering continues. And while Washington keeps on pointing fingers and blaming each other, the deficit continues to increase: another $223 billion was added in February alone -- more than was added in the entire year of 2007. The deficit is projected to approach $1.5 trillion if Congress does not act this year.

We know where blame is placed -- with both parties. From 2000 to 2010 federal spending doubled. In 2007 the federal budget deficit was 1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product, but by last year is was up to 9 percent.

A balanced approach to reforms will eventually get us back on track to a balanced budget and a balanced relationship between government spending and revenues and its citizens.

We have done this before. Bipartisan agreements between Congress and two presidents -- George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton -- resulted in wiser spending and, for a fleeting moment, a balanced budget.

So next on the checklist: finding the fortitude to forge the bipartisan agreement that we need now. Inaction in Washington is no longer acceptable.

The Government Accountability Office recently reported that the "current fiscal policy is unsustainable over the long term." While stating what is obvious to many, it is just one more warning that the sooner the nation acts to harness in spending in a effective and efficient fashion, the better for all of us.

History shows moments where citizens have demanded an end to the torrent of fiscal flooding -- and leaders have responded. It can happen again. It must start happening again -- today.

Many think it will be a cold day in Hades before the two parties really start working together to initiate a serious plan to rescue our nation from the fiscal calamity we face. We will bear as many cold days in the capital as needed to keep the effort going.

You can't spend what you don't have and if you do, you are in trouble. We need responsible government now.

Gretchen Hamel is the executive director of Public Notice, an independent, bipartisan, non-profit organization dedicated to providing facts and insights on the effect public policy has on Americans' financial well being. For more information please visit www.thepublicnotice.org.