Called "courageous" by House Republicans and branded "extreme" by Democrats, Rep. Paul Ryan's budget bill has split the GOP's conservative base.
The measure, which would cut federal spending by $5.2 trillion over 10 years, was approved by the House. But it has no prospect for passage in the Democrat-controlled Senate, and some fiscal hawks are saying the plan doesn't go far enough.
To keep up the pressure for more spending cuts and entitlement reforms, the national tea party group, FreedomWorks, said it favors a more stringent budget put forth by the Republican Study Committee. The Club for Growth also is pushing for a harder line.
"The Ryan plan does not go far enough, but it's a good start," said Dean Clancy, legislative counsel for FreedomWorks. "We much prefer the 'tea party' budget offered by Senator Rand Paul."
Paul's proposal would reduce government spending as a share of GDP from 22.8 percent to 17.9 percent, 2 points lower than the Ryan budget.
Ticking off concerns about Ryan's budget, Clancy said:
- "It takes forever to balance the budget, and thus continues to pile up debt over the next few decades." The Paul plan, saving $472 billion in the first year, balances by 2017.
- "It doesnt reform Social Security." The Paul plan phases in higher retirement ages and slows benefit growth for high-income retirees.
- "It doesnt specify a single Cabinet department it would eliminate." The Paul plan abolishes four -- Commerce, Education, Energy, and Housing and Urban Development -- and privatizes the TSA.
- "It increases defense spending, relative to current law." The Paul plan doesn't.
That said, FreedomWorks remains "neutral" on the Ryan budget and points to a few positives:
- It implements major Medicare reform, including private options.
- It offers a major tax code simplification that would close unspecified loopholes and leave just two tax brackets, 25 percent and 10 percent (down from six brackets today, the highest being 35 percent).
- It assumes reduced government spending on a trajectory that would make it possible to achieve a balanced budget by around 2040 and pay off the national debt by 2050.
- Using dynamic scoring and assuming Ryans tax reform would increase economic growth by 1 percentage point a year -- "optimistic, but not unreasonable," Clancy says -- the plan could achieve balance sooner, by sometime in the 2020s.
Still, Sen. Paul's "Platform to Revitalize America," co-sponsored by Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Jim DeMint, R-S.C., has gained the support of all 47 GOP senators.
The Kentucky Republican calls it "the only budget proposal that balances within the Balanced Budget Amendment window."
In addition to deeper cuts, the Paul plan incorporates a 17 percent flat tax for individuals and corporations.
"Its what the tea party is looking for in a budget -- bold, simple and, most important, principled," Clancy says.
Meantime, Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, calls the Ryan budget "a step in the right direction."
For starters, he said it would block a $1.9 trillion tax increase embedded in President Obamas fiscal 2013 budget.
"Passage of the Ryan budget comes on the heels of the presidents budget blueprint that projects a deficit for this year of $1.3 trillion -- marking four consecutive years of trillion-dollar deficits," Buchanan said.
Obama's budget -- which the House voted down 414-0 -- isclearly a nonstarter. And Senate Democrats have been equally feckless, failing to pass a budget in more than 1,000 days.
That leaves it to Republicans to hold the House this fall, recapture the Senate and win the presidency if either the Ryan or Paul plans are to have a reasonable chance of enactment.
And that, says Florida Tea Party Network Chairwoman Patricia Sullivan, makes the November election job one.
Calling the Ryan plan "palatable," Sullivan said the conservative movement "must continue to work for cuts where we can."
Clancy senses that "House Republicans are showing signs of being to the left of Rand Paul, though its a mystery why, since the Ryan approach is attracting precisely zero Democrats. If your plan is going to woo zero Democrats, why not go big and paint in bold colors instead of pale pastels?
"If the GOP takes control of the Senate, the important factor will be what kind of Republicans make up the new majority. If we can go from five stalwarts like Rand Paul to 12, it will visibly shift the Senate to the right. How far, I cant predict now. But it will, Im sure," Clancy said.
Buchanan wholeheartedly agrees on at least one point: Cuts must come, soon.
We cannot spend our way to prosperity, the congressman said. "We have to put an end to the irresponsible policies that have created a mountain of debt for our children and grandchildren."
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
