–House Budget Committee Chairman: Debt Hike Must Be Leveraged
–Hammers Democrats For “Mediscare Campaign’
–Higher Revenues Should Be Driven By Economic Growth
–Hill Must Show Markets ‘Getting Our Spending Under Control’

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan
Wednesday said the coming vote in Congress on debt ceiling legislation
should be used to secure a “serious downpayment” on long-term deficit
reduction.

Speaking at a budget conference hosted by the Pete Peterson
Foundation, Ryan did not detail the level of spending cuts that will be
needed to secure enough support to pass the debt ceiling increase.

In recent weeks, House Speaker John Boehner has said that a $2
trillion increase in the debt ceiling would require at least $2 trillion
in spending cuts over a period of time which he refused to specify.

In his remarks, Ryan said congressional Democrats are launching a
partisan “Mediscare” campaign to discredit the fiscal plan that House
Republicans proposed which included a fundamental overhaul of Medicare.

Ryan said that Democratic leaders are using the House GOP plan to
reform Medicare as a “political weapon.”

“They are shamelessly demagoging and distorting it,” he said,
referring to his budget’s Medicare provisions.

Ryan said repeatedly that higher revenues must be part of the
nation’s fiscal solution, but these should come from more robust
economic growth rather than from higher tax rates.

Ryan said House Republicans support broad tax reform and are
currently holding hearings in the Ways and Means Committee to determine
how to “clear out the clutter” and overhaul the tax code so it better
promotes economic growth.

Ryan said that strong spending controls would send a positive
signal to financial markets. “The best thing we can do is show we are
getting our spending under control,” Ryan said.

“It’s all about confidence and trajectory,” he said about the need
to control spending.

Ryan said he is skeptical about the need to create special
commissions to tackle the deficit, including the bipartisan group led by
Vice President Biden.

“We got to get out there and fix the problem,” he said.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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