Senate rejects Ryan budget

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has soundly rejected a balanced budget plan authored by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan.

Five Republicans joined every Democrat present to kill the measure, which failed on a 40-59 vote.

The GOP’s most ardent tea partyers — Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah — opposed the measure, which projects a balanced budget in a decade but relies on $600 billion-plus in tax revenues on the wealthy enacted in January to do it.

Susan Collins of Maine and Dean Heller of Nevada also opposed the Ryan plan, which cuts sharply from safety net programs for the poor and contains a plan to turn the Medicare program for the elderly into a voucher-like system for future beneficiaries born in 1959 or later.

Comments

1) Comment by foldgers - 22/03/2013

I've said it before and I will say it again, give me a week or two to see what every penny is being spent on and I will easily find the money needed for this country to begin to pay down debt and still keep the needed programs fully funded.

2) Comment by DMJ - 22/03/2013

Well, Ryan's nothing if not persistent. He got beat in an election, turns around and offers the exact plan the voters rejected. Brilliant.