Ryan WSJ column heightens prospects for farm bill deal
October 09, 2013 | 06:43 PM
As President Barack Obama made plans to meet with House Democrats late this afternoon and Republicans on Thursday, an opinion column by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., in The Wall Street Journal today would appear to create another opportunity for inclusion of the farm bill in a budget deal.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Ryan wrote, “To break the deadlock, both sides should agree to commonsense reforms of the country’s entitlement programs and tax code.”
Ryan did not mention either food stamps, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or farm subsidies, but he didn’t mention Obamacare — officially the Affordable Care Act — either.
But today, when asked by radio talk show host Bill Bennett whether he was “putting Obamacare to the side,” Ryan replied, “No. Obamacare’s an entitlement just like any other entitlement. So that, as far as we’re concerned, it is in this conversation. Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, those are the big drivers of our debt.”
Again Ryan did not mention food stamps, but he did include a proposal to turn food stamps back to the states as a capped federal entitlement in his budget proposals. He also included cuts to the crop insurance program and conservation programs in his budget.
President Barack Obama included crop insurance cuts but no cuts to food stamps in his budget.
Robert Greenstein
Robert Greenstein of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, has previously said he believes Ryan and his caucus are afraid to put on the table any proposals of their own that affect current Medicare or Social Security beneficiaries.
Today Greenstein said, “What Ryan is doing here is cherry-picking from Obama’s budget. To try to get negotiations going, Obama put various entitlement cuts in his budget that Republicans like and many Democrats don’t; Obama offered those as part of a larger package that also includes revenues.”
“Ryan wants to pick out the entitlement pieces while ruling out the revenues,” Greenstein said. “That isn’t going to fly with Obama and Democrats. If and when Republicans put their own set of entitlement cuts on the table, I won’t be surprised if they include SNAP cuts.”
“Ryan didn’t mention them in his article, but the article is largely PR and spin rather than a serious proposal,” Greenstein said.
The House late Tuesday passed a bill to establish a bicameral “working group” to negotiate a budget deal. The vote ws 224 to 197, with two Democrats joining the Republicans in voting for it, five Republicans voting against it, and 10 members not voting.
Conservatives appeared ready late today to accept a debt deal as a first step to getting Democrats to move on long-term fiscal issues, National Journal reported.
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
Ryan wrote, “To break the deadlock, both sides should agree to commonsense reforms of the country’s entitlement programs and tax code.”
Ryan did not mention either food stamps, officially known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or farm subsidies, but he didn’t mention Obamacare — officially the Affordable Care Act — either.
But today, when asked by radio talk show host Bill Bennett whether he was “putting Obamacare to the side,” Ryan replied, “No. Obamacare’s an entitlement just like any other entitlement. So that, as far as we’re concerned, it is in this conversation. Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, those are the big drivers of our debt.”
Again Ryan did not mention food stamps, but he did include a proposal to turn food stamps back to the states as a capped federal entitlement in his budget proposals. He also included cuts to the crop insurance program and conservation programs in his budget.
President Barack Obama included crop insurance cuts but no cuts to food stamps in his budget.
Robert Greenstein
Robert Greenstein of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, has previously said he believes Ryan and his caucus are afraid to put on the table any proposals of their own that affect current Medicare or Social Security beneficiaries.
Today Greenstein said, “What Ryan is doing here is cherry-picking from Obama’s budget. To try to get negotiations going, Obama put various entitlement cuts in his budget that Republicans like and many Democrats don’t; Obama offered those as part of a larger package that also includes revenues.”
“Ryan wants to pick out the entitlement pieces while ruling out the revenues,” Greenstein said. “That isn’t going to fly with Obama and Democrats. If and when Republicans put their own set of entitlement cuts on the table, I won’t be surprised if they include SNAP cuts.”
“Ryan didn’t mention them in his article, but the article is largely PR and spin rather than a serious proposal,” Greenstein said.
The House late Tuesday passed a bill to establish a bicameral “working group” to negotiate a budget deal. The vote ws 224 to 197, with two Democrats joining the Republicans in voting for it, five Republicans voting against it, and 10 members not voting.
Conservatives appeared ready late today to accept a debt deal as a first step to getting Democrats to move on long-term fiscal issues, National Journal reported.
