Republicans assume control of the U.S. House today and their members, new and old, couldn't be more excited to shrink America's growing national deficit. On WLS' Don Wade and Roma this morning, U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam recounted a conversation he had with one of his new colleagues who entered Congress with no political experience. "As one of these fellas told me ... 'I am not going to sit by and let a group of people squander the prosperity of my children and grandchildren without a fight.'" Listen (the full interview is available here):

If protecting America's youth from future debt payments is a top priority of the GOP, their actions this week sure don't reflect that mission. For starters, Brian Beutler is reporting that the new House rules penned by the caucus "exempt some of their biggest legislative priorities from deficit consideration." These include both the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts, which were temporarily extended during the White House deal late last year, and ludicrously expensive changes to the estate tax. Republicans are also keen on repealing the new health care reform law, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates will reduce the federal deficit by $143 billion over the next 10 years and $1.2 trillion in the decade after that. (It will also insure some 30 million Americans.) Luckily, Democrats in the Senate and White House will block any effort to peel back coverage. They might also want to teach Roskam and his friends the definition of "squander."