House poised to approve Ryan budget plan

Passage of the GOP budget advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., will likely be along party lines. Meanwhile, a bipartisan alternative was rejected Wednesday.  

The Associated Press: House Ready To OK GOP Budget, Rejects Rival Plans
Republicans are ready to ram through the House an election-year, $3.5 trillion budget that showcases their deficit-cutting plan for revamping Medicare and slicing everything from food stamps to transportation while rejecting President Barack Obama's call to raise taxes on the rich. The blueprint by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., was headed for all but certain House passage Thursday, mostly along party lines. It faces a demise that is just as sure in the Democratic-run Senate, which plans to ignore it, but the battle remains significant because of the clarity with which it contrasts the two parties' budgetary visions for voters (Fram, 3/29).

The Hill: Ryan Budget Plan Poised To Pass House, Giving GOP Needed Boost
The House on Thursday is poised to approve Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget measure, which would give Republicans a much-needed lift after months of intra-party squabbling. Ryan's blueprint -; which cuts $5.3 trillion in spending compared to President Obama's budget proposal -; has been gaining traction among Republicans in recent days. Yet, conservative deficit hawks have called for deeper cuts, while some GOP appropriators have grumbled about the spending caps in the budget resolution (Kasperowicz, 3/29).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: House Debates Ryan Budget: Predictably Partisan
The tone was immediately and undoubtedly partisan Wednesday when the House began considering the Republican-backed 2013 budget resolution that the House Budget Committee recently approved (Werber Serafini, 3/28).

The Wall Street Journal: House Votes Down Bipartisan Budget Proposal
The House overwhelmingly voted down a bipartisan budget proposal Wednesday that would have directed lawmakers to reduce the federal deficit by more than $4 trillion over 10 years through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases. … The White House and many Democrats have called for deficit reduction through a combination of targeted spending cuts and large tax increases. Many Republicans, particularly congressional leaders, have said they won't support a deficit-reduction plan that raises taxes, and they have said any deal would require a large restructuring of Medicare and Medicaid (Paletta, 3/28).

Politico: House Crushes Budget Compromise
Republicans pushed toward House passage on Thursday of their new budget plan after crushing a bipartisan alternative Wednesday night and smoothing out internal GOP differences over the handling for future funding for disasters (Rogers, 3/29).