That view is trumpeted by Republicans, like Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama.

"The debt level today already costs us growth and jobs," noted Sessions. "America's private sector is just waiting to grow and expand, but unwise government policy continues to stand in the way."

However, Alice Rivlin told lawmakers the real cause of America's economic doldrums is not a lack of confidence, but a nation that has stopped spending.

"Lack of demand is the basic problem," added Rivlin. "If you do not think you can sell your product, you are not going to make more of it."

Public policy groups, like the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, say, whatever policies or programs Washington adopts, lawmakers need to keep an eye on the main prize: stabilizing and ultimately reducing a national debt that has grown to the size of America's entire yearly economic output.

On that score, no one in Congress disagrees. But getting there when 14 million Americans are out of work and economic growth has slowed to a crawl is no easy task for lawmakers, or the experts who advise them.