US House Republicans unveil blueprint to balance budget by 2023

US House Republicans on Tuesday put forth their latest budget proposal, pledging to achieve 4.6 trillion dollars in savings and balance the U.S. budget within a decade. At a press conference on Tuesday morning, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan detailed the 10-year balanced budget blueprint. "We cut wasteful spending. We repair the safety net so that we can help those in need. We protect and strengthen key priorities like Medicare, a program that's going bankrupt ... We foster a healthier economy so that we can create jobs and grow more wages," Ryan stated. As was the case last year, the House GOP budget plan promised to repeal President Barack Obama's healthcare law and change Medicare into a voucher-like plan, in which future retirees would receive subsidies to purchase private insurance or traditional Medicare. It also called for tax reforms that eliminate loopholes and consolidate tax brackets into two, but rejected further tax increases. In an op-ed published in Tuesday's The Wall Street Journal, Ryan claimed that his budget will help economic growth. "Smaller deficits will keep interest rates low, which will help small businesses to expand and hire," he explained. The 2012 GOP vice presidential nominee said the Congressional Budget Office believes that legislation reducing the deficit as much as the proposal does would boost gross national product by 1. 7 percent in 2023. According to the plan, the U.S. budget deficit would fall sharply to 528 billion dollars next year, 125 billion dollars in 2015 and 69 billion dollars in 2016. The latest version of the "Path to Prosperity" plan is likely to be approved by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. However, it is unlikely to become law in its entirety as it assumes a repeal of the so-called Obamacare and reduces the deficit without raising taxes, two elements which are unpalatable to the Democrats. The new budget proposal is only the opening salvo of another round of budget battles in Washington. On Wednesday, for the first time since 2009, Senate Democrats will stake out their budget plan. Political fight over the dueling proposals would intensify as the two parties finally reveal their priorities on the budget front.