Guam - Local leaders are reacting to GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's announcement of representative Paul Ryan as his running mate. Majority Leader Rory Respicio says Romney's choice is an alarming one for our senior citizens, as Ryan is best known for pushing for cuts in Social Security benefits and Medicare for the elderly namely in the Ryan Budget Act.

He said, "And so when hearing of that pick, it really it emboldened President Obama to underscore his stance for real people and that the difference with what President Obama is like versus what a president Romney would be like; so we just have to send that message to say that choice should be alarming even for the people of Guam."

Minority Leader Frank Blas, Jr. added, "Romney's choice of Ryan, I can assume, is based on the concern with regards to the growing deficit that we have in the nation and the need to be able to curb, and to bring our budget back to levels in which we can manage it. Obviously there have been concerns with regards to some of the cuts that Mr. Ryan wanted to make or is making in the budget act but in the same token are these cuts in necessary in some cases to ensure that these programs continue to remain in existence for years down the road."

Blas says while many are critical of Ryan's budget act, other are neglecting the fact that Majority Leader Harry Reid has not passed a budget in three years. Ryan is the chair of the House Budget Committee.