Senate GOP Budget Is Ryan-Lite

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and a group of his conservative colleagues introduced today a 2012 spending plan that aims to balance the nation’s budget by 2020.

In many ways, the plan is similar to one crafted by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), which cuts $4 trillion out of the deficit through a series of spending cuts, tax tweaks and entitlement reforms. Like the House plan, Toomey’s proposal includes a repeal of President Obama’s healthcare law and reduces corporate tax rates while simplifying rates on individuals. It also reforms Medicaid into a block grant program favored by almost all Republicans.

However, unlike the House plan, the Senate GOP version would not alter the structure of Medicare, an issue which has opened up the House plan to constant criticism by Democrats.

Toomey said that he likes Ryan’s plan and will vote for it should it come to the Senate floor. Still, he chose to omit Medicare from his version in order to focus more narrowly on balancing the budget over a mere ten-year window.

“[Paul Ryan’s] goal is long-term, it’s permanent solvency,” Toomey explained. “I see this as a different focus. The focus being — just these next ten years — how do we get to balance?”

Currently, the U.S.’ total debt figure is approximately $14.3 trillion. In addition, the federal government is expected to run a deficit of roughly $1.6 trillion for the 2011 fiscal year.

The Senate Republican proposal achieves the majority of its deficit reduction through reducing total federal spending to 18.5% of GDP over the next ten years, eliminating waste within the Pentagon’s budget, and terminating tax loopholes and deductions provided for large corporations and special interests.

By leaving Medicare (and Social Security for that matter) untouched, Toomey and his cohorts are hoping that their plan can attract bipartisan support.