|
 "It'll pass," said Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy, the
No. 3 Republican in the House who, as Majority Whip, is responsible
for rounding up votes for legislation.
The Ryan plan, which proposes deep cuts to healthcare, social safety
net and other domestic programs in order to reach a small surplus by
2024 while boosting defense spending, could face resistance from the
most conservative Republicans in the House.
"I'm still reviewing it. That's the most I can say right now," said
Representative Justin Amash, a libertarian Republican from Michigan,
when asked if he would support the plan from Ryan, who chairs the
House Budget Committee.
Amash was one of 62 Republicans who voted against a short-term
budget deal negotiated last year by Ryan and Democratic Senate
Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, which lifted discretionary
spending slightly.
With all House Democrats expected to oppose Ryan's latest budget
plan, only 16 Republican "no" votes would cause it to fail.
Ryan's budget has no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled
Senate. But for the November congressional elections, it will serve
as a manifesto of Republican priorities — a plan the party will use
to draw contrasts with Democratic President Barack Obama's push to
trim federal spending more gradually, boost taxes on the wealthy and
increase protections for lower- and middle-class Americans.
CONSERVATIVES CRITICAL
Some leaders in the conservative Tea Party movement voiced their
dissatisfaction as the plan was unveiled on Tuesday.
Jenny Beth Martin, head of Tea Party Patriots, criticized Ryan's
budget for merely slowing federal spending and doing too little to
shrink the $17.5 trillion national debt.
"In truth, Congress is digging America's financial grave and the
solution is not to dig slower but to stop digging — period," Martin
said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
[to top of second column] |
Tea Party icon Sarah Palin also chimed in, saying in a post on her
Facebook page that Ryan's budget pushes off balancing too far into
the future.
"Holy Moly, are you kidding?" Palin wrote. "The latest Ryan (R,
Wisconsin) budget is not an April Fool's joke. But it really is a
joke because it is still not seeing the problem; it still is not
proposing reining in wasteful government overspending today."
Two conservative groups that tend to have more direct influence on
Congress, Heritage Action and Club For Growth, so far have not
commented on the Ryan budget.
House Speaker John Boehner, asked if it was possible to design a
budget that would cut spending enough to satisfy Tea Party groups,
said emphatically: "No. No. You know if we want to make perfect the
enemy of the good every day, we'd never get anything done here."
He said Ryan's budget was "essentially the same" as budgets passed
by Republicans the past four years and Democrats were ignoring the
growth of federal debt and "whistling past the graveyard".
"We've been responsible for last four years in putting forward our
vision, and we're going to do it again," Boehner said.
The Republican-controlled House Budget Committee is expected to pass
Ryan's budget late on Wednesday night, clearing the way for a House
floor vote later this month.
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
