Ryan makes pitch for extended tenure atop Budget panel

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Tuesday made his pitch for an extended two-year term as House Budget Committee chairman.

The 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee spoke to the select group of lawmakers gathered to choose committee chairmen for the 113th Congress.

Ryan, whose budget plan was used as a campaign weapon by Democrats, is expected to get the waiver. House Republicans have a six-year term limit imposed on committee chairmen and ranking members, but that can be extended — although it is rare for that to happen.

Ryan told a handful of reporters that his pitch "went well," and he gave the GOP Steering Committee his opinion on "how we should proceed, how we should organize the committee ... my vision for the committee."

He refrained from delving into details of the presentation, or his new role as a part of the team advising Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on how to proceed with negotiations on the "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax increases set to hit in January without action from lawmakers.

The Steering Committee has spent Tuesday hearing from lawmakers who are vying for committee chairman positions. They are expected to select their slate of chairmen by the end of the day, with a formal announcement and full ratification by the entire GOP conference on Wednesday.

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