US Republicans to roll out new spending plans
REPUBLICANS in the US House of Representatives will try this week to seize control of the election-year spending debate by rolling out a plan to slash trillion-dollar deficits and revive reforms to the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly.
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan will unveil the sequel to his “Path to Prosperity” budget tomorrow, with a committee vote scheduled for Wednesday. It is expected to be considered on the House floor the following week, an aide said.
The effort from Ryan aims to portray Republicans as unafraid to face the tough decisions needed to avoid what they warn is a looming U.S. debt crisis. He intends to contrast Republicans with what they view as a big tax-and-spend budget from President Barack Obama that would produce a fifth straight year of $1 trillion deficits and make no major changes to Medicare or the Social Security retirement program.
Though the Ryan budget resolution is likely to win approval in the Republican-controlled House, neither it nor Obama’s budget plan is expected to become law. They will be used as campaign platforms detailing policies each party wants to pursue if it wins the White House in November.