***PAUL RYAN WILL JOIN ME LIVE THURSDAY IN THE 10 A.M. HOUR

Conservatives in the GOP desperately need leaders... and Congressman Paul Ryan is stepping up. What makes his proposal extraordinary is that Ryan is virtually alone among either party in addressing the looming entitlement crisis. Most of them are simply afraid of embracing even modest reforms, so they are leaving it to the 38-year-old Ryan.

Washington - Most lawmakers receive little attention when they introduce bills in Congress. That's especially true for House members in the minority party.

But Rep. Paul Ryan is generating excitement among conservative circles for a bill he introduced Wednesday that would reform Social Security, Medicare, the health care system and the tax code.

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In case you missed, it, here is Ryan's Op-Ed in today's Wall Street Journal:

While Congress will have a partisan debate over the federal budget this week, there is a growing, bipartisan consensus about the greatest threat to our nation's long-term economic prosperity: the explosion of entitlement spending. Unfortunately, Washington is not planning to address that problem this week, or any time soon. By doing nothing, we are shackling our future with unsustainable debt and taxes.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the rest of government will consume nearly 40% of the economy by the time my three young children reach my age (38). This will require more than doubling the average tax burden of the past 40 years just to keep the government afloat. Continuing down this path will eventually strangle our economy.

To meet this challenge and secure our fiscal future, I'm introducing a comprehensive legislative plan called "A Roadmap for America's Future."