After running for vice president, Congressman Paul Ryan sat down with the MacIver News Service at his office in Janesville to talk about how his perspective has changed, and the fiscal fights Republicans face in Congress.
MacIver Institute: Returning to Congress after running for Vice President, it is not surprising Paul Ryan’s perspective on things has changed.
Congressman Paul Ryan: I came out of this energized and enthused because there are so many Americans who are so passionate about the idea of America, the founding principles, and the potential our country has. That is exciting to me. But having lost this election and going back to the House, it also gives me a good perspective on things: Do not fear criticism. Whatever you are going to do you are going to get criticized just do what you think is right in the interest of the people you represent to try and solve problems. That is the attitude I have more than ever before going into this year.
MacIver Institute: The first big fight in Congress after the election was over the fiscal cliff that resulted in a $62 billion a year increase in taxes and many conservatives accused House Republicans of giving in.
Congressman Paul Ryan: Elections have consequences and I think the fact that a tax increase occurred is because the President won the election. Clearly, Mitt and I were not going to do that. We were going to do tax reform. But the election did have a consequence and as a result you have a tax increase which I think is going to hurt the economy.
Now, thankfully we mitigated the damage as much as possible. John Boehner proposed $800 billion in more revenues. This deal was $600 billion. So with an 89-8 vote in the Senate we knew that this cliff deal was the best to be gotten. It had to pass, from my perspective, to make sure that the American taxpayer does not get caught in the crossfire – that families in Wisconsin do not get a massive tax increase.
MacIver Institute: Now that tax increases have already been dealt with, Ryan says that Democrats have no choice but to give in on spending cuts during the next debate over the debt ceiling, which will have to be settled over the next couple of months.
Congressman Paul Ryan: We now have a spending fight in front of us which is what we wanted – a clean fight about spending. It is not just the debt ceiling, it is also the continuing resolution funding government, it is also the sequester, which has been delayed until March. These fights are spending fights. That is the kind of fight we want. President Obama no longer has the excuse about holding off for tax increases because he got his tax increase. Now let us focus on spending. And by the way, our problem is a spending driven crisis. We have a debt crisis coming. It is really not a question of “if” it is a question of “when.” And what legislators do when they see the facts in front of them, when they see their children inheriting a debt they cannot survive, when they this debt hurting our country and our economy, when they see what is going on in Europe – is we fight for spending cuts. That is exactly what we are going to do.
MacIver Institute: Ryan says there will be many tough fights over the next two years
Congressman Paul Ryan: These deficits, this debt, these regulations, the size of government the president is proposing - I think that the President sort of sees himself as the bookend of Woodrow Wilson. He believes he ought to transform the country into something it was never intended to be. I think he thinks that his second term is dedicated to that proposition but given that we have divided government, it is our job to make sure that America doesn’t lose itself.
