U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., renewed his call for a balanced U.S. budget Tuesday, releasing a plan that would cut $4.6 trillion in spending over the next 10 years while reducing tax rates.
Similar to his previous two proposals, Ryan’s budget would fully repeal President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, commonly referred to as Obamacare, overhaul Medicare, and cut income taxes for most individuals.
“We believe that we owe the people a balanced budget,” said Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, at a televised press conference. “We can’t just keep spending money we don’t have.”
Ryan’s plan would also increase federal spending by 3.4 percent annually over the next ten years, lower than the current yearly projection of 5 percent, and set the corporate tax rate to 25 percent.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis, who also serves on the House Budget Committee, criticized Ryan’s proposal, saying it does not reflect Wisconsin values. Pocan said Congress needs to take a different approach that increases investments in infrastructure, education and research.
“Instead of resorting back to recycled policies that have already been rejected by the public and Congress, we need to focus on ways we can work together to move our economy forward,” Pocan said in a statement.
Still, if Ryan’s budget passes through the GOP-controlled House, it would likely make little progress in the Senate, where the Democrats are the majority party. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, plans to respond with the Democratic budget proposal on Wednesday.
