WASHINGTON — House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, a rising Republican star who has stirred controversy with his approach to budget-cutting, will give the GOP response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday.
The choice is aimed at showcasing the commitment of Republicans, who this month took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in four years, to deficit reduction.
Previous Republican responses to Obama’s State of the Union addresses were given by governors.
Ryan, 39, a seventh-term Wisconsin Republican, is known for his “Roadmap for America’s Future,” a plan for reducing federal-budget deficits that includes giving younger workers the option of setting aside Social Security tax payments for “personal retirement accounts.”
In addition, Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., a favorite of the Tea Party movement, will deliver a separate reaction to Obama’s speech on behalf of the Tea Party Express, one of the movement’s largest groups.
Her broadcast, following Obama and Ryan, will be broadcast at and .
Lately, Ryan has become the center of partisan controversy for a different reason. Republicans argue that since no formal budget is in place for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, expedited procedures are needed to curb spending. They aim to cut $60 billion to $80 billion for the remainder of this fiscal year, which runs to Sept. 30.
Under the House Republicans’ plan, Ryan would be able to set spending levels for this year’s budget by publishing them in the Congressional Record; there would be no vote.
