A thought experiment for Republicans

Given the following:

1. There's broad agreement across the country that the federal government's levels of debt and spending are serious problems; this is universally accepted by conservatives.

2. It's clear that no serious, long-term solution to this debt and spending problem can occur in the absence of entitlement reform, particularly Medicare and Social Security.

While the next Congress will have a power split, Republicans will control a solid majority in the House. Unlike in the Senate, a majority party in the House rules with an iron fist. Debate is limited, and there are no filibuster rules that allow a minority to control the agenda. With a 50%-plus-one majority, the Speaker of the House can bring a vote to the floor and force it through, using only members of his or her own party. For example in the current Congress, while the Senate was never able to act on energy policy reform, Pelosi was able to pass cap and trade legislation in the House.

Here's the experiment I propose: The Republicans lost a lot of fiscal credibility when they controlled Congress during the last decade. While I think it's unlikely that the entire Congress will pass legislation creating meaningful entitlement reform in the next two years, I can see no reason why the Republican majority in the House can't do so, if they're serious about solving the problem.

To demonstrate that they're serious about spending reform, the Republican-controlled House should, in the next two-year session, pass legislation to reform both Medicare and Social Security. The test for their success is that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office scores the bill as making Medicare and Social Security fiscally sound through at least 2050.

My prediction - what you'll see instead is two years of political grandstanding, with no real attempt on the part of House Republicans to solve the problem they were elected to solve.