Rep. Chris Van Hollen’s remarks came on the heels of mounting Republican criticism that Democrats have not been serious about balancing the budget.

“We believe that our projections show that the budget we will submit will actually balance,” Van Hollen (D-Md.) said on NBC News’s “Meet The Press.” “It will balance at the same time the Republicans’ budget balanced last year — which is out in the future, around 2040.”

House Republicans released a blueprint last week that would balance the budget by 2023, while Senate Democrats’ proposal doesn’t promise to do so. And in an interview last week, President Obama said, “My goal is not to chase a balanced budget just for the sake of balance,” a posture that has come under GOP criticism.