Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) concurred with Bob Woodward's assessment of President Obama's sequester strategy to "move the goalposts" from spending cuts to tax increases Thursday on CNBC.
Ryan noted any discussion with respect to altering the sequester must focus on spending, as including revenue in a sequester deal would compromise tax reform:
JOE KERNAN: Can you put to rest Chairman, about whether the deal was actually changed? I was under the impression that both sides at one point had agreed that this would be about actually finally having some spending cuts kick in, because you could you were unable to do it this time, so we're going to make sure we do it this time. To then change it to a deficit reduction zeal that includes higher taxes and revenues instead of what it was intended, was that changing the rules or all's fair in Washington?
PAUL RYAN: No, I mean, we obviously believe the president moved the goalpost. I think Bob Woodward has mapped this out pretty effectively. Don't forget, Joe, the president got the largest tax increase in American history eight weeks ago. Now he's trying to move the goalpost and say instead of spending cuts which is what the sequester is, I need a bunch of tax increases for this as well to fuel more spending. Look, if you take these tax loopholes you're killing tax reform. That kills our chance for economic growth and job creation. More to the point, more to the point, even with the sequester taking effect, spending will have gone up 18 percent since the president took office. So spending is the problem. The deficit's a huge problem. We're going to tackle this. We don't think the sequester is the right way to do it but it's going to happen and we will map out a budget that shows you the right way to fix our fiscal problems to grow the economy, create jobs, and prevent a debt crisis in this country.
Full interview: