WASHINGTON - Less than a week after House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Ky., released a budget that Democratic critics called too draconian, the House conservative caucus Monday offered its own spending plan that offers even bigger spending cuts. The Republican Study Committee's proposal would create a "premium support" system for Medicare for people age 59 and younger, five...
WASHINGTON - Less than a week after House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Ky., released a budget that Democratic critics called too draconian, the House conservative caucus Monday offered its own spending plan that offers even bigger spending cuts.
Rep. Steve Scalise offers up a spending plan with more spending cuts than proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan.
The Republican Study Committee's proposal would create a "premium support" system for Medicare for people age 59 and younger, five years earlier than Ryan, and balance the budget in four years. Ryan's proposal doesn't balance the budget until 2023.
Like the Ryan plan, seniors under the RSC proposal would have the option of receiving federal aid to purchase private insurance, or choose traditional Medicare.
The RSC, chaired by Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise, would also in its budget eventually raise the retirement age for full Social Security benefits from 66 to 70.
In addition, it would eliminate some $600 billion in tax increases approved by Congress on New Year's Day -- obtained largely from ending the Bush tax cuts for households with incomes over $450,000.
Ryan, who was Mitt Romney's vice presidential running-mate in 2012, would continue the higher tax rates in his budget plan, thereby enabling his proposal to balance the budget in 10 years. Ryan's previous budget proposal reduced, but did not totally eliminate the deficit in 10 years.
The RSC plan achieves budget balance with much deeper cuts in discretionary funding that was recommended by Ryan. The RSC would cap such funding at $950 billion, spending levels in effect during 2009, and freeze those spending levels until 2017 when the budget is balanced under its plan.
But it would allow, as the Ryan plan does, for defense spending to increase from $552 billion in 2014 to $678 billion in 2023. It also follows the lead of the Ryan budget in eliminating the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama's 2010 health overhaul legislation.
Scalise said the RSC budget provides many benefits.
"This plan lays out a clear path towards preserving the American Dream for future generations, controlling spending to create jobs and get the economy back on track, and finally returning Washington back on the party to fiscal responsibility," Scalise said.
But with a Democratic president who lists the health overhaul plan as the signature achievement of his first term, and a Democratic Senate, neither the repeal of the health care plan, or substantial cuts in domestic spending favored by Republicans are likely to be enacted. Obama has said he's willing to okay big spending cuts, and reforms in entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, but not without getting some revenue by eliminating tax breaks for the wealthy.
Scalise, during an appearance Sunday on C-SPAN, said he expects the vast majority of the 171-member Republican Study Committee to vote for the Ryan budget after first voting for the RSC's leaner spending proposal. The RSC proposal isn't expected to pass.
Votes on the spending plans are likely this week.
Last week, Democrats, including Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, denounced the Ryan spending bill for imposing what they called radical cuts in important domestic spending.
"I am absolutely disgusted by the "new" Ryan budget because once again, it confirms that House Republicans have chosen to neglect the most vulnerable among us and endanger hard-won health care gains," Richmond said.