Gwen Moore on Paul Ryan, budget: 'Lot of negotiating that'll have to be done with this joker'
Washington, DC,
March 13, 2013
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The Washington Times
By David Sherfinski Rep. Gwen Moore slammed the proposed budget plan of Rep. Paul Ryan as a “polemic” and handed him a backhanded compliment for offering his “firmest offer” for the start of negotiations. “The thing that I think is really disappointing is that it’s a polemic versus any kind of policy statement of principles,” the Wisconsin Democrat said Wednesday on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.” “It’s a statement that nothing counts except for [the] budget deficit and while there’s an illusion that there’s some growth, there’s not one bit of investment in research, development education — as a matter of fact he cuts back on any kind of innovation, research and development. It’s a no-growth policy statement.” Mr. Ryan’s plan cuts spending by $4.6 trillion and he says that, coupled with economic growth, can balance the federal budget in 10 years. But Democrats like Ms. Moore have dismissed his projections as unrealistic and say they want a mix of tax increases accompanied by spending cuts like the plan to be unveiled by Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, Washington Democrat. “What I will say, because I do like my chairman Paul Ryan, is that he has stated really explicitly that he sees this as his firmest offer so that if they go into a conference committee he can work and negotiate from that point and, sure, there’s a lot of negotiating that’ll have to be done with this joker here,” Ms. Moore continued. To view this article online, please click here.
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