House Republican Budget Will Address Entitlements

Looks like they've been reading the WEEKLY STANDARD on Capitol Hill. This afternoon the Republican leadership and Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan released the following statement:

“The President says that he wants to win the future, but we can't win the future by repeating the mistakes of the past or putting off our responsibilities in the present.  Our budget will lead where the President has failed, and it will include real entitlement reforms so that we can have a conversation with the American people about the challenges we face and the need to chart a new path to prosperity.  Our reforms will focus both on saving these programs for current and future generations of Americans and on getting our debt under control and our economy growing.  By taking critical steps forward now, we can fulfill the mission of health and retirement security for all Americans without making changes for those in or near retirement.  We hope the President and Democratic leaders in Congress will demonstrate leadership and join us in working toward responsible solutions to confront the fiscal and economic challenges before us.”

Incidentally, the Republicans have pledged to deal seriously with the main drivers of America's structural deficit just a day before New Jersey governor Chris Christie comes to Washington to speak at the American Enterprise Institute. Something tells me Governor Christie must be pleased at Speaker Boehner's decision—and will have more to say on the topic tomorrow at AEI.