Ryan: 'Premature' to talk GOP entitlement plans

The chairman of the House Budget Committee on Monday fended off multiple questions regarding how the GOP will handle entitlement reform in its budget proposal.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and other party members criticized President Obama's budget, which was released Monday, for not addressing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid reform.

But he punted when asked if and how Republicans would address the costly programs in their budget plan, saying the proposal has not yet been written or scored by the Congressional Budget Office.

"I can't tell you what our budget is going to be because we have written it yet," he told reporters at an afternoon press conference. 

Ryan's comment came as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the GOP budget, which will be released in March or April, will include "entitlement provisions."

"We will include entitlement provisions, unlike the president. Unlike [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid (D-Nev.)," he said.

Democrats on Capitol Hill have already directed their criticism at Republican spending proposals, calling them reckless and have also accused the GOP of wanting to privatize Social Security and Medicare.

Ryan said that his party believes that reining in entitlement spending is a key step to reducing the nation's long-term debt, but urged for patience on the specifics.

"Obviously we think that entitlement reforms are a big slice of the pie and we are going to have to do thing there," he said, but countered that it's "premature to talk about what's going to be in our budget."