Ryan Wants "Big Down Payment" on National Debt

Good luck!

House Republicans want to force "a big down payment on the debt crisis" during the debate on spending cuts and extending the U.S. government's borrowing authority, said Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan.

Ryan said the debt-limit issue, the scheduled March 1 start of $110 billion in automatic spending cuts -- half in defense -- and the need to extend the government's spending authority past March 27 "are the points" to "force the conversation" on reducing the debt.

What "I expect to come out of that is a big down payment on the debt crisis," Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, said at a Wall Street Journal breakfast today in Washington. The House plans to vote later today to suspend the borrowing limit until May 19.