Ryan: Democrats just 'kick the can down the road' by failing to pass budget

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) accused Democrats Saturday of "kick[ing] the can down the road" on the deficit by failing to pass a comprehensive budget resolution.

Democrats are capping next year's discretionary spending bills and setting a goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2015, but they won't detail how they'll reach that goal.

Ryan suggested Democrats want to spare their members another tough vote.

"With the political season upon us, Democratic leaders believe it’s better to take a pass than to pass a budget," Ryan said in the weekly Republican address.

Republicans have hammered Democrats in recent weeks for failing to pass a budget. As the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, Ryan has been helping lead that effort.

The Wisconsin Republican said his party has come up with more than a trillion dollars in cuts that Democrats should consider.

"This is a time to make tough choices, not run from them," Ryan said. "To that end, Republicans on the Budget Committee have already identified $1.3 trillion in specific spending cuts we would implement right now to make Washington do more with less and help small businesses put people back to work."

Ryan suggested rescinding bailout and stimulus funds that have not been spent and freezing pay for federal workers.

"Instead of growing government, we need to restart the engine of economic growth," Ryan said.

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