House Republicans may vote this week on the budget proposed last week by their Budget Committee Chair, Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan.
Ryan's plan repeats much of his 2011 proposal that Democrats bludgeoned because of his call for essentially replacing Medicare, by subsidizing insurance premiums for seniors to allow them to buy either a private plan or traditional Medicare — a change that Democrats say would simply shift the costs from the government to seniors.
But it would do much more. It would transform Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps, into state-controlled block grants. He would also cut $1.9 trillion over 10 years from an array of formula-based "mandatory" programs, from agriculture to transportation.
And it would lower the top tax rate for individuals from 35 percent to 25 percent. Ryan says he won't lose any revenue by doing so, because he'll "broaden the tax base" by eliminating lots of corporate tax deductions, though he's not saying which ones or how much money can be captured by doing so.
Ryan told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that's the Ways & Means Committee's job, not his as Budget Chair.
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This article appears in Mar 22-28, 2012.