Republicans politicians in the United States have moved to reject President Barack Obama's call for new public spending on research, infrastructure and education.
After Mr Obama's State of the Union address, leading Republicans reiterated their proposal for massive cuts in the government budget.
They cited their gains in the November election as evidence that Americans had rejected Mr Obama's approach.
In the official Republican Party response, House budget committee chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin emphasised "the crushing burden of debt" that the United States faces.
"We hold to a couple of simple convictions: endless borrowing is not a strategy; spending cuts have to come first," he said.
"The debt will soon eclipse our entire economy and grow to catastrophic levels in the years ahead."
The BBC reports that the US government budget shortfall reached $US1.5 trillion this year, a new record.
Analysts say the figure shows the US government must borrow 40 cents for each dollar it spends.
Leading Republicans called for far deeper cuts in the budget than Mr Obama outlined on Tuesday.
"Freezing government spending for five years at the increased levels of the last two years is really not enough," said Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
However, the BBC reports that polling has suggested Americans were receptive to Mr Obama's proposals.
