Blunt OK with losing salary if no budget

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said Sunday requiring the Senate to pass a budget by April or they lose their pay is "the right thing to do."

Passing a budget isn't the only thing he hopes gets done in the coming months, though, he said during an appearance on Fox News "Sunday."

"I think all of us losing our pay if we don't pass a budget is the right thing to do. I'm for cutting spending, [because] just passing the budget isn't quite enough, but at least it's a step in the right direction," he said.

Extending the debt ceiling, Blunt said, also isn't going to cut it.

"If you went to your credit counselor and said, I can't pay my bills, your credit counselor wouldn't say, 'Well, that's just easy. We'll just extend your limit.' Your credit counselor would say, what are you going to do to try to pay your bills in the future? And a budget is a big step toward doing that," he said.

Blunt said he hopes the Senate can figure out how to cut spending in "a targeted way" rather than across the board.

"The worst way to have spending cuts is [to say], 'We can't decide how to cut anything, so we're going to cut everything just a little bit.' That's not the right thing to do and hopefully, we can find a better solution to sequestration, in the Armed Services Committee and other places," he said.