Pence: GOP needs to 'pick a fight' to defend House spending bill

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) on Thursday said House Republicans should respond to the Senate's rejection of House FY 2011 spending bill not by negotiating, but by insisting its passage.

"I think we have to pick a fight," Pence said on the House floor. "If House Republicans want to win this battle, we need to take a stand for the budget cuts and policy changes enshrined in H.R. 1. That's $61 billion in savings this year, defunding ObamaCare and defunding Planned Parenthood of America."

Pence, a member of the Republican Study Committee, mocked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) for defending federal spending on a cowboy poetry festival in Nevada and for saying GOP cuts are "mean-spirited."

"It's time to take a stand for fiscal responsibility and reform," he said. "We have to say this far, and no farther.

"And make no mistake about it, if we make this fight, we can win this fight because the American people are on our side," Pence concluded.

Earlier Thursday, Reid said Democrats are ready to negotiate on a budget deal, but he did not offer any specifics.