The Republicans have been unhappy with the Obama administration’s proposed 2010 Federal Budget, ever since it was made public in February. To counter what Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan called in an April 1 Wall Street Journal opinion piece, a “fiscal-tidal wave of red ink,” the GOP today announced its own “alternative budget.”
According Representative Paul Ryan, principal author of the GOP tome, this alternative budget stands on four legs:
- fulfill the mission of health and retirement security
- control the nation’s debt
- put the economy on a path of growth and leadership in the global economy
- preserve the American legacy of leaving the next generation better off.
The aim of the Republican alternative budget is to reduce the federal deficit by freezing all discretionary spending (except for national defense and veterans’ health care) for five years, holding the line on taxes, and making permanent the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. The bill also addresses energy policy, entitlements, and tax reform to simplify the tax code. The GOP proposal is already drawing criticism from Democrats and others on the left for its apparent lack of concrete numbers.
Congressman Ryan is the ranking member of the House Budget Committee and senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. The alternative budget and the debate it inspires bring Ryan, a Wisconsin native, to the forefront of national politics.
The 39-year old Ryan represents Wisconsin’s First Congressional District. He was born and raised in Janesville, graduating from Janesville’s Joseph Craig High School. He earned a degree in economics and political science from Miami University in Ohio. Ryan was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 when he won election by a 57% majority. He has handily won re-election in each succeeding election generally overwhelming his opponents by 2/3 majorities. He is currently in his sixth term in the U.S. House of Representative.
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Congressman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin (AP/Scott) Applewhite)
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