Hoyer presses Ryan on budget

A top Democratic lawmaker is pressing Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) ahead of the new House GOP budget, as both parties continue to seek a leg up on fiscal issues. 

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) office released 10 questions Friday on what they expect to be the “fuzzy math and ambiguous spending cuts” in Ryan’s latest budget framework, which is expected Tuesday. 

Hoyer’s questions include whether or not Ryan, the House Budget chairman, will keep the “untargeted, irrational sequester cuts,” and how conservatives will accept the Wisconsin Republican’s use of the revenue increases from the recent “fiscal cliff” deal. 

“If you can’t lay out exactly what you’re cutting and instead include enormous, unspecified cuts, how can people take this budget seriously?” Hoyer’s office asked. Ryan, under some pressure from the right flank of the House GOP, has committed to producing a budget that would balance within a decade. 

His effort from last year, which cut some $5 trillion in spending, took until around 2040 to balance. Still, Ryan, his party’s vice presidential nominee in 2012, has said that his latest framework won’t be radically different from his last blueprint. 

Senate Democrats, after failing to pass a budget the last four years, are also expected to press ahead on a budget next week. That framework is likely to include a fresh influx of revenues, making it unlikely the House and Senate would be able to reconcile their budgets.

--This article was updated at 7:15 a.m. on Saturday, March 9. 

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