Where does Ryan stand on Romney's list?

NPR reports on the effect Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., could have if Mitt Romney chose him as a running mate. Ryan's budget plan, which includes sweeping changes to Medicare, is one of the reasons why he may not be "the safest choice."

NPR: Budget Hawk Ryan Offers Romney Risk, Reward
Among those on Mitt Romney's list of potential running mates, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan has youth and experience, he's a conservative from a swing state, and he has big ideas and the policy chops to back them up. But the chairman of the House Budget Committee would not be the safest of choices. … The budget plan he introduced in 2010, or the "road map," as he called it, ignited a major debate within Congress. … Ryan's budget was instantly controversial. It called for sweeping cuts to social programs, and, most troubling for seniors, would have changed Medicare from a guaranteed benefit to a voucher program (Seabrook, 7/24).

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, state Republicans are pushing to make federal issues such as the health law and taxes key at the state level, too.  

The Associated Press/Minneapolis Star Tribune: Minn. Republicans Criticize New Health Care Taxes
Republican lawmakers facing a critical legislative election season focused on taxes in the federal health care overhaul Monday as they attempt to bring a nationally charged issue -; and the T-word -; into state races. The GOP-led House Taxes Committee hearing featured U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen as a star witness, with questions from Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kurt Bills, a state representative who serves on the panel. Bills is the underdog challenging Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in a race widely considered to favor the incumbent. Paulsen recapped his effort to repeal a 2.3 percent excise tax on the medical device industry last month, saying the pending tax is already leading to layoffs as companies anticipate its Jan. 1 effective date (Lohn, 7/23).

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This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.