Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

“We’re going to be focused on stepping up our investment in infrastructure, on replacing the job killing sequester, and on extending unemployment,” Dem Rep. Chris Van Hollen, a top party strategist and the ranking Dem on the House Budget Committee, told me. “If we don’t address that issue, more than a million Americans who are still looking for work will have no means of supporting their families.”

Enabling health insurance for hundreds of thousands and eventually millions of Americans who previously hadn't been insured, or who had been drained by unaffordable insurance, is a task to be proud of and to be sure is done right. But health care isn't the only thing that needs improvement, which poses a challenge for congressional Democrats: How do they make progress on jobs and the economy over the objections of Republicans? Greg Sargent reports that Democrats are looking ahead to the upcoming budget talks, ready to fight for several key priorities:Important priorities, all. Investing in infrastructure both creates jobs and makes it less likely that bridges collapse into rivers. The sequester—well, "job killing sequester" is about the size of it. And with the jobless rate stubbornly high and not enough jobs to go around, unemployment benefits are vitally important for helping struggling families make ends meet, not to mention that unemployment funding provides economic stimulus.

One of the "compromises" the Ezra Klein wing of the punditocracy is floating for Democrats to offer involves giving up on getting new revenue, since Republicans remain hysterically opposed to even the most popular tax on those who can afford it most. This, of course, falls into the category of "why would you compromise in advance when dealing with a party that will just see that as weakness and demand more" as well as the self-evident stupid policy category. And, Sargent reports, Van Hollen is not on board with the idea, saying "We’ve not heard any reason why we shouldn’t be closing these tax breaks. The burden is on Republicans to show why they want to preserve them." So the budget fight won't be easy, but at least it sounds like congressional Democrats are starting out in the right place.