Hatch to Newsmax: Obama's Speech 'Usual Diatribe'

President Barack Obama’s debt relief speech was nothing more than the “usual diatribe” of more taxes and more government, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, tells Newsmax.TV.

Hatch made his comments at the Americans for Tax Reform’s annual Tax Day event at the Capitol Visitor’s center. The long-time champion of a Balanced Budget Amendment was referring to part of Obama’s plan that would let President George W. Bush’s tax cuts for wealthier Americans expire.

“I thought it was terrible,” Hatch said of the speech. “It was usual diatribe, basically an attack on Paul Ryan, who really has some great ideas. Whether you agree with him or not, they’re serious ideas. And it was just another call for more taxation and more government.”

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Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, has called for changes in Medicare and Medicaid and other government entitlement programs that have traditionally been out of bounds in discussions of budget cuts.

The play proposed by Ryan, R-Wis., would turn Medicare into a voucher program where the federal government would contribute money that people could use to buy private health insurance. The Medicaid program would be transformed into a block grant program where money would be given to the states.

“You can’t do serious budget cuts without looking at entitlements,” Hatch said. “First of all though, you cannot change entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare and others without presidential leadership and we really don’t have presidential leadership at this time.”