Two-week budget measure signed into law

President Barack Obama invited congressional leaders to meet with Vice President Joe Biden in hopes of taking on longer-term fiscal issues such as Medicare spending. Meanwhile, a new poll demonstrates that taking on such entitlement programs is challenging, because public opinion does not necessarily endorse deep cuts in this area.

The New York Times: Obama Signs Two-Week Budget Extension
Senate Democratic leaders on Wednesday urged Republicans to come to the bargaining table to work out a deal to finance the government through Sept. 30 and perhaps go beyond the immediate fiscal issues to take on larger budgetary questions about spending on entitlement programs like Medicare and an increase in the debt limit  (Hulse, 3/2).

The Washington Post: Obama Invites Congressional Leaders To Meet With Biden On Budget
President Obama on Wednesday intervened in a partisan brawl that threatens to shut down the government, inviting congressional leaders of both parties to sit down with Vice President Biden and work out a compromise to fund federal programs through the end of the fiscal year (Murray and Montgomery, 3/2).

The Wall Street Journal: Poll Shows Budget-Cuts Dilemma
Less than a quarter of Americans support making significant cuts to Social Security or Medicare to tackle the country's mounting deficit, according to a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, illustrating the challenge facing lawmakers who want voter buy-in to alter entitlement programs (King and Greenberg, 3/3).

Politico: Paul Ryan Accuses W.H. Of Skirting Medicare Law
House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is continuing to press the White House to take on entitlements, this time accusing President Obama of failing to follow a provision of a Medicare law (Cohen, 3/2).