Following on the heels of House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, New York congressman Steve Israel, the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is out with a statement on Paul Ryan's budget plan released today:
Everyone agrees we must cut spending and tighten our belt, but House Republicans have chosen to do so on the backs of America’s seniors, not the oil companies making record profits and getting tens of billions in taxpayer subsidies. Forcing seniors to pay higher health costs is not the right way to balance our books and it’s not the only way to do it. House Republicans should be honest with the American people and repeal giveaways to the oil companies and tax breaks for the ultra wealthy before forcing seniors to clip coupons if they need to see a doctor. Seniors who are paying a lifetime into Medicare deserve to count on the system they have earned. The American people have rejected these kind of privatization schemes in the past and will do it again.
Ryan was asked about Israel's statement at AEI earlier this afternoon. "Shame on those who want to politicize and demagogue [the budget plan]," Ryan said. "I, for one, think this country is ready for an honest talk about this."
So are the claims Israel and Pelosi are making about the effects of the House GOP budget accurate?
The first claim is that this budget cuts spending "on the backs of seniors" while allowing oil companies to continue to receive "tens of billions in taxpayer subsidies." Ryan's budget proposal actually has a section entitled "Eliminating welfare for energy companies", which concludes thusly:
Ultimately, the best energy policy is one that encourages robust competition and innovation to ensure the American people an affordable and stable supply of energy. This budget would roll back federal intervention and expensive corporate-welfare funding directed to the president’s allied industries. Instead, it would promote policies aimed at reliable energy, lower energy prices, greater revenue generation through prosperity, and market-based solutions to the goal of sustainable energy.
Regarding how the budget hurts seniors, Israel is likely referring to the Medicare reforms Ryan proposes. The problem with this is that under the proposal, current seniors will face no change in their benefits. According to the Ryan plan, there will be "no disruptions in the current Medicare fee-for-service program for those currently enrolled or becoming eligible in the next ten years." Only in 2022 will new beneficiaries have the option to enroll in a so-called "premium-support" system that Ryan describes as the same as the health care system members of Congress enjoy. The budget plan explains:
Future Medicare recipients will be able to choose from a list of guaranteed coverage options, and they will be given the ability to choose a plan that works best for them. This is not a voucher program, but rather a premium-support model. A Medicare premium-support payment would be paid, by Medicare, to the plan chosen by the beneficiary, subsidizing its cost. The premium-support model would operate similar to the way the Medicare prescription-drug benefit program works today. The Medicare premium-support payment would be adjusted so that wealthier beneficiaries would receive a lower subsidy, the sick would receive a higher payment if their conditions worsened, and lower-income seniors would receive additional assistance to cover out-of-pocket costs.