Democrats are afraid to put forward their own budget and just want to "scare" the public into raising the debt ceiling, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said Friday.

"I think they're afraid to put one forward," Johnson said on Fox News. "They're trying to blackmail us into raising the debt ceiling and that's just wrong."

Johnson's comments come a day after Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) announced that Democrats would wait until after a bipartisan commission charged with coming up with a compromise on dealing with the national debt finishes its work.

Johnson said Democrats' refusal to release a budget is meant to force the public to accept raising the debt ceiling.

"I think it's a concerted effort to scare the public and say that if we don't raise the debt ceiling, it's going to be Armageddon," Johnson continued. "It won't be Armageddon."

"The administration has got to stop scaring the public," Johnson said.

Republicans have been hammering Democrats for refusing to support House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) proposal. But Democrats have strongly criticized the plan, especially its proposed changes to Medicare which, Democrats argue, replaces Medicare with a voucher system for Americans under the age of 55.

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