Ryan: Budget at 'Tipping Point'
The Hill reports:
The United States must embrace fiscal discipline and austerity as its budget reaches a "tipping point," Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will argue in the GOP response to the State of the Union.
The chairman of the House Budget Committee will emphasize the need to rein in spending in the official Republican rejoinder to Obama's speech, underscoring the chasm between the White House and congressional Republicans on the budget.
"Our nation is approaching a tipping point," Ryan will say in his speech to the nation, according to excerpts released Tuesday evening. "We are at a moment where if government’s growth is left unchecked and unchallenged, America’s best century will be considered our past century."
The speech is intended to contrast Republicans with Obama on the stewardship of the economy and the budget, especially as the president is expected to call for new investments to address what he will call a "Sputnik moment" facing the United States.Ryan's speech is set to frame some of the major issues facing Congress this year — healthcare reform, job creation, and others — in terms of its effect on the budget and long-term debt.
"Our forthcoming budget is our obligation to you – to show you how we intend to do things differently, how we will cut spending to get the debt down, help create jobs and prosperity, and reform government programs," Ryan will say.
His pledge raises the stake for the budget battles that are set to envelop Congress in the coming months. The White House will unveil its budget in coming weeks, and Ryan will be responsible for crafting the official Republican alternative in the House. His remarks suggest that Republicans have no intention of backing off the spending cuts of which they've spoken for their first few months on the job.
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