GOP Spending Plan a Welcome Change

Op-Ed

Last week, the president offered a disappointing step in the wrong direction with a budget that locks in Washington's spending spree and adds $13 trillion to the debt. His budget would stifle job growth today and cripple future generations with a crushing burden of debt and taxes.

Job creators understand that today's big deficits are tomorrow's big tax increases. Washington tried to spend, borrow and tax our way to prosperity. It just doesn't work. After two years, all this borrowing and spending has not only failed to deliver promised jobs but also has plunged us deeper into debt. The problem is simple: Many families and businesses look at the size of our debt and fear that we are heading for a diminished future.

Last week, House Republicans voted to start getting Washington's spending problem under control, bringing spending back to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels. Our $100 billion spending cut marks a welcome change from Washington's pervasive culture of spending. We hope both parties can work together to earn back the trust of a skeptical public and restore confidence to the private sector. Senate Democrats should debate and vote on the House-passed legislation to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year and secure a critical down payment on our commitment to tackling the debt.

There is no question that more must be done to put our budget on a path to balance and our economy on a path to prosperity. If we remain on our present course, in accordance with the president's budget, we are headed for a debt-driven economic crisis, a shredding of the safety net and massive tax increases on everyone. Where the president has failed, House Republicans have committed to lead. We will build upon the spending cuts advanced for the current year and put forward a budget for next year that will address the drivers of our debt.

I am hopeful that the president and his party will join our effort to cut spending and grow the economy. Both parties must work together if we are to seriously address our greatest fiscal and economic challenges.

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is chairman of the House Budget Committee.

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