House Republicans are calling for most of the spending in the economic stimulus package passed in February to be rescinded starting in 2010 as part of their alternative to President Obama's budget blueprint.
After being criticized last week for lacking specifics in their budget rebuttal, the Republicans unveiled some details Wednesday -- calling also for a freeze on non-defense spending and a moratorium on earmarks for Congress.
"This is a budget with real policies and real numbers," said Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. "We're going into an ocean of red ink in this country. There will be a time when others won't buy our bonds."
The GOP plan also proposes major changes to the tax code. It would allow taxpayers to either file under the current system or choose a simpler option: Individuals earning $50,000 or less, and couples earning $100,000 or less, would be taxed at 10 percent. The rate for income above $100,000 would be 25 percent.
The plan, drafted by Ryan, the top Republican on the Budget Committee, would also radically overhaul Medicare.
On Medicare, workers under the age of 55 would enroll in private plans and receive premium subsidies equal to the average Medicare benefit when they retire. Benefits would not be changed for people in the program or people 55 or older.
Despite spending reductions, the plan projects permanent deficits exceeding $500 billion into the future, fueled largely by big tax cuts.
"If you like this recession, you'll love the Republican budget," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a written statement. "And if their plan sounds familiar, it's because it merely repeats the same mistakes of the past eight years -- mistakes that have cost millions of Americans their jobs and plunged our nation into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression."
The plan has no chance of becoming law, but offers voters a contrast between the rival parties. Republicans have been on the attack, saying Obama's $3.6 trillion budget for next year taxes, borrows and spends way too much. And Republicans have seemed sensitive to criticisms by Obama and Democrats that they are the "party of 'no,' " rushing out a detail-free version of the plan last week.
"If we don't tackle these fiscal problems, they're going to tackle us," Ryan said Wednesday
The GOP alternative emerged as the House began debate on a Democratic budget measure that largely tracks Obama's plans, though not exact assumptions, like limiting wealthier taxpayers' ability to deduct mortgage interest, charitable contributions and other deductions.
Meanwhile, debate continued in the Senate.
Under Congress' arcane budget process, the first step in enacting major legislation such as Obama's plans to dramatically overhaul the U.S. health care system is to pass a nonbinding blueprint called a budget resolution.
Obama's budget, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would produce unsustainable deficits that never go below 4 percent of the size of the economy. The alternatives offered by House and Senate Democrats would do somewhat better.
House Republicans Call for Stimulus Repeal in Budget Plan
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