The budget debate will get a little confusing today as Republicans in the U.S. House roll out their own budget plan for next year, even before this year's budget is finished.
As President Obama meets with Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and others, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) will unveil a spending plan that he says makes over $4 trillion in cutbacks over the next ten years.
In a morning news conference, Ryan - who will be flanked by a number of Republican rank-and-file lawmakers - will lay out a spending blueprint for the new fiscal year, which begins on October 1.
On spending, the plan would roll back most accounts (excluding defense and homeland security) to 2008 funding levels and then find another $400 billion in cuts over 10 years.
On the trickier subject of entitlement spending, the plan would usher in major reforms in Medicare that basically guarantee those over 55 the current system, while making changes for younger workers, changes that would likely mean lower benefits for some in the future.
Democrats are likely rubbing their hands together like someone who thinks all the political cards are ready to fall in their direction, as there will certainly be ammunition galore in this plan in terms of proposed cuts and budgetary changes.
This new plan comes as Republicans turn up the verbal attacks on Democrats over the budget for this year, which is over six months behind schedule already.
"I’ve made clear that their $33 billion is not enough and many of the cuts that the White House and Senate Democrats are talking about are full of smoke and mirrors," said Speaker John Boehner yesterday. "That’s unacceptable."
"Senator Reid is attempting to abuse the budget process and limit the ability of Appropriations negotiators to complete their work – dictating the use of gimmicks and phony accounting to sneak more spending through the Congress and by the American people," chimed in House Appropriations panel Chairman Rep Hal Rogers (R-KY).
"Republicans and the Tea Party continue to reject reality," retorted Sen. Reid, who accused the other party of focusing on nothing but ideology.
"Tea Party Republicans refuse to recognize that their budget is a simply appalling proposal. They stomp their feet and call ‘compromise’ a dirty word, and insist on a budget that will hurt America rather than help it," Reid added.
Meanwhile, Democrats and the White House are again using fuzzy math in their arguments over this budget battle, insisting that they have agreed to $73 billion in cuts.
The real number is $33 billion. Democrats are once again comparing budget numbers to the proposal of President Obama from last year, which was never enacted into law.
Meanwhile, Republicans may decide on a "Plan B" in the budget fight, as there have been discussions about a one-week budget extension, which would also include provisions that fully fund the Defense Department through the end of the fiscal year.
That plan would also reportedly include budget cuts as well, following through on GOP demands that any extension provide for further cuts.
We'll see if that gets any traction as a result of troubles at the negotiating table.
Stay tuned on this one. You never know, there could be a lot of people watching the Masters in the Democratic and Republican Cloakrooms this weekend.
