Ryan says House GOP will again seek to revamp Medicare

The House Republicans, holding their annual retreat in Baltimore, looked ahead to their agenda this year.

Reuters/Chicago Tribune: House Republican Budget To Seek Medicare Reforms
Republicans in the House of Representatives will put forward a budget plan this year that will seek substantial reforms to health benefits for the elderly and make aggressive strides toward reducing deficits, a senior lawmaker said on Friday. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said he wanted his budget plan to offer voters an alternative vision to the "cradle-to-grave welfare state" that he says Democratic President Barack Obama is promoting. The House Republican budget resolution will contain reforms to Medicare, the healthcare program for Americans 62 and over, such as providing subsidies to help recipients pay for private insurance, based on their wealth and medical needs (Lawder, 1/20).

ABC News: GOP Budget Guru Stands His Ground on Controversial Medicare Reform
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin says Republicans have no plans to shy away from controversial efforts to reform entitlements when the House GOP drafts its budget this year, including transforming Medicare into a premium-support system. "We're not backing off on the kinds of reforms that we've advocated, but we have to write it," Paul said during a break at the GOP's issues conference in Baltimore today. "We've done more to normalize the idea of premium support than anything at all. We're confident that these are the right policies. There's an emerging bipartisan consensus that's occurring on doing premium support reform to Medicare is the best way to save Medicare" (Parkinson, 1/20).

Politico: GOP 2012: Tax Reform, Keystone, Ryan Budget
Republicans are also poised for another big budget vision from Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) whose budget last year would have reshaped Medicare, block granted Medicaid to the states and reformed the tax code. It was widely panned by Democrats as destroying long-standing social safety nets and gave the GOP a few difficult weeks. But House Republicans think their message has taken hold: they are betting that voters believe them when they say nation is on shaky fiscal ground, and they're the party looking to repair it (Sherman, 1/20).

The Hill: Ryan Confirms House GOP Will Present 2013 Budget
Last year the House passed a bold budget that reined in Medicare spending only to see the Senate fail to move a budget at all. House Republicans took a political beating for the budget, as attack ads from Democrats blossomed accusing the GOP of ending Medicare (Hooper and Wasson, 1/20).

The New York Times: House Republicans Hone Plan To Take On Obama
Democrats were quick to criticize the statements emanating from Baltimore. "For one full year, the do-nothing, my-way-or-the-highway united Republican House has given Americans no jobs bills, a plan to end the Medicare guarantee and manufactured crises. In return for their unity, Americans have given them back the proud title of the worst Congress in history," said Nadeam A. Elshami, a spokesman for Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the Democratic leader (Steinhauer, 1/20).

The Washington Post: House Republican Conference Holds More Somber Annual Retreat
With the year's policy agenda still in flux, (Speaker John) Boehner tried to refocus the conference on conducting vigorous oversight of the Obama administration, an area of legislative action that they can do without requiring Senate assent. "The policies coming out of this White House - policies like Obamacare - are hurting our economy and making it harder for small businesses to create jobs," Boehner said in his opening remarks, according to another Republican's notes. "We have a responsibility to use our majority to shine a spotlight on those policies and demand accountability from this administration on behalf of the American people" (Kane, 1/20).