House passes ill-fated GOP budget of $3.53 trillion

On Thursday, the Republican dominated House of Representatives passed the GOP leadership’s budget plan, a measure that reportedly stands no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate, but clearly creates a contrast between the right and left wings on a number of critical tax and spending issues ahead of the 2012 presidential election. The motion passed in a strongly polarized 228-191 vote. There were no Democrats that backed the measure and only 10 Republicans opposed it.

Republican House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s $3.53 trillion blueprint includes an overhaul of the nation’s tax code and major changes to popular entitlements such as Medicare, an expensive program that in the past has been considered politically untouchable. Republicans believe the plan is necessary to slow the growth of exploding federal deficits and put the federal government on the path to fiscal stability. On Thursday morning, Ryan said, “We have one of the most predictable economic crises in this country coming. It’s a debt-driven crisis. And so we have an obligation — not just a legal obligation but a moral obligation — to do something about it.” Democrats, however, believe the plan is a betrayal of last year’s bipartisan deficit reduction deal and a GOP giveaway to the wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle class and vulnerable seniors. Maryland Representative Chris Van Hollen, a member of the House Democratic leadership, said, “In our view, we certainly don’t want to return to some of the economic policies that got us into the mess to begin with. And we are concerned that the Republican budget does that. It disrupts the fragile recovery and undercuts investments that are going to be important for the long-term economic strength of the United States of America.”