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BloombergHouse Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said he doesn’t expect a “grand slam” deficit-cutting agreement that addresses the main drivers of the long-term debt, mainly Medicare, before Congress votes on raising the debt limit.
Any agreement should focus on discretionary spending cuts, reductions in programs such as farm aid, and some form of budget process overhaul without revenue increases, the Wisconsin Republican said at a Bloomberg Breakfast in Washington yesterday.
“I’m hoping the debt limit is an opportunity to get a down payment on some spending cuts, to get a down payment on some spending reform,” Ryan said.
Last month he proposed a plan to privatize Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly, as part of his 2012 budget blueprint. The proposal, passed by the House, has become a flash point for Democrats who say Republicans are trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and elderly.
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http://preview.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-04/ryan-says-congress-unlikely-to-get-grand-slam-debt-agreement.html