Earlier this week, the House and Senate Budget Committees began debating their respective budget resolutions, which will provide a blueprint for federal spending in fiscal year 2016.  The House is looking to cut federal spending by $5.5 trillion and proposes to balance the federal budget in nine years.  That compares to the Senate, which would reduce federal spending by a $5.1 trillion over the next decade.  Neither the House nor the Senate have proposed to raise revenues.  Once finalized, the congressional budget sets the overall spending caps for the coming fiscal year.