The House Republican FY2013 Budget makes the necessary choices to reform and save entitlements while continuing to cut discretionary spending.
- Spending below historical average: In contrast to the President’s plan to keep spending above 23 percent of GDP indefinitely, the Ryan plan cuts spending to below 20 percent by 2016 – historically, spending has averaged 21 percent.
- Ends the Pelosi-Reid-Obama Spending Spree: The Ryan budget cuts $5 trillion in contrast to the Obama budget, which would increase spending $1.5 trillion from current policy and rack up $11 trillion in new debt over the next ten years.
- Requires Spending Cuts to Offset New Spending: The Ryan Budget requires new mandatory spending to be offset with spending cuts elsewhere in the budget. This rights the broken PAYGO process, which slants the deck in favor of tax increases to “pay for” new spending. Other important reforms are included that will require honest accounting of federal spending habits.
- Establishes Discretionary Spending Caps: The Ryan plan sets spending for Fiscal Year 2013 at $1.028 trillion. This is below the $1.047 trillion cap set by the Budget Control Act but above the discretionary level that is required after the law’s sequester goes into effect.
- Nets Mandatory Savings: The sequester required by the Budget Control Act is replaced by instructions to reform mandatory spending, which never has to be reviewed during the annual appropriations process. These reforms will cut $261 billion over the next ten years.
- Cuts Back the Nation’s Debt: Under the President's plan, debt will be equal to the size of the economy in the next ten years. With significant structural reform that will save the entitlement programs from bankruptcy, the Ryan plan brings debt down to 61 percent in the same amount of time
Most notably, the Ryan budget reforms government without raising taxes. In contrast, the President’s spending plan lacks leadership and courage, forcing almost $2 trillion in new taxes on American families and employers. The House Republican Budget is an important step towards limiting the size of government and restoring solvency for America’s taxpayers.
Posted by Mattie Duppler 
on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 11:37 AM EDT
on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 11:37 AM EDTTo follow Mattie Duppler's RSS feed click here. To follow them on Twitter, their handle is @MDuppler