GOP: Dems have failed to lead on budget

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Senate Democrats were accused Saturday of failing to lead by a freshman Republican congresswoman, who faulted them for not producing a budget.

"It's been nearly four years since Senate Democrats last passed a budget -- 1,375 days to be exact," Rep. Susan Brooks of Indiana, said in the weekly GOP media address.

She said the Democratic majority in the Senate "has failed to see the value in this sound model of working hard and living within your means," The Hill reported.

Brooks noted she had voted for the "No Budget, No Pay Act" that suspended the debt limit for three months and required both the GOP-controlled House and Senate to pass a budget by April 15 for the members to continue getting paychecks on time.

The bill, she said, presented Democrats with "a golden opportunity to confront and solve our spending problem," she said.

Brooks blamed Democratic President Obama for the impending automatic spending cuts passed by Congress in 2011 that would make across-the-board reductions in all government agencies. He proposed them, she said, and Republicans now want to replace them with "better, thoughtful, common-sense cuts and reforms."

Brooks was optimistic about the future despite the challenges faced by the United States, ABC News Radio reported.

"We have a chance to begin balancing our nation's checkbook, jump-start our economy and restore faith in our government," she said. "Republicans will work tirelessly to hold the Democratic majority in Washington accountable and make sure, together, we seize this opportunity."