GOP Rep. Broun now opposes Ryan budget

In a potentially worrisome sign for House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), a Republican representative who abstained from voting on the last Ryan budget has now come out against the newest one.

Conservative Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) on Friday said the plan, which comes to the House floor next week, does not cut spending fast enough. The Ryan budget balances by 2023 by cutting $5.7 trillion compared to the Congressional Budget Office baseline.

For Broun, who is running for a Senate seat in 2014, this is not enough.

“This budget fails to seriously address our nation’s most pressing problem, and that’s the out-of-control spending going on in Washington,” he said. “Instead of enacting real spending cuts or taking steps to curb our fiscal irresponsibility, Chairman Ryan’s proposal in fact encourages spending growth."

Broun argues that the $5 trillion cut, when compared to President Obama's budget, is not much of a difference.

“Our nation can’t afford to wait any longer to make deep, targeted spending cuts in the federal budget. Unfortunately, this proposal only scrapes the surface. I’m positive that there is indeed a ‘Path to Prosperity,’ but Chairman Ryan’s budget certainly isn’t it," he said.

Broun last year voted for the Republican Study Committee alternative budget, which balanced in five years. This year, the RSC will offer its own budget alternative again.

The Ryan budget suffered 10 GOP defections in 2012. This year, the party can only tolerate 15 defections and still pass the budget if no Democrats support the Ryan plan.

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