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House GOP to offer alternative budget

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) (R) speaks alongside Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) as he announces the Republican budget alternative on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 26, 2009. (UPI Photo/Kevin Dietsch)
1 of 2 | House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) (R) speaks alongside Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) as he announces the Republican budget alternative on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 26, 2009. (UPI Photo/Kevin Dietsch) | License Photo

WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- U.S. House Republicans Thursday unveiled what they called a preview of a budget they will propose next week, which Democrats criticized as lacking specifics.

"(While) we criticize, we propose," Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., said during a news conference. "And next Wednesday, we're going to go to the Congress ... with a budget that does not recklessly mortgage our children's future, that gets our borrowing under control, that does not pursue a gusher of new and frivolous spending, and that does not raise taxes on the American people, on small businesses, on people with savings plans in the middle of a recession."

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The Republicans said their alternative to President Barack Obama's $3.6 trillion fiscal year 2010 budget outline would reduce taxes, spending and borrowing.

At a White House media briefing, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs made light of the GOP presentation.

"It is interesting to have a budget that doesn't contain any numbers," Gibbs said. "I think the administration is glad that the Republicans heard the president's call to submit an alternative. We just hope that next time it will contain actual numbers so somebody can evaluate what it means."

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Two members of the House GOP leadership objected to the outline Republicans announced Thursday, Politico reported. Citing several Republican sources, the Capitol Hill publication said Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio told Minority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan they needed to get behind the plan.

One GOP aide told Politico Pence rushed the unveiling Thursday, "erasing weeks of hard work by dozens of Republicans to put forth serious ideas."

"In his egocentric rush to get on camera, Mike Pence threw the rest of the conference under the bus, specifically Paul Ryan, whose staff has been working night and day for weeks to develop a substantive budget plan," the aide said.

Senate Democratic leaders said GOP senators' criticisms rang hollow because they failed to offer an alternative, The Hill reported.

"If you have people that are pontificating on how bad something is, they have the obligation to come forward with something they think would be better, and they haven't done that," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

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