By Larry Jones
April 30, 2012

The $3.53 trillion 2013 budget adopted by the House last March by a vote of 228 to 191 would reduce overall spending for discretionary programs from $1.047 trillion to $1.028 trillion in the new fiscal year, which starts October 1 of this year. All Democrats and ten Republicans voted against the bill. To help achieve the $19 billion called for in savings, the proposal recommends the elimination of "non-core programs" such as Community Development Block Grants (CDBG).

The House budget would also eliminate $105.8 billion in student aid over the next ten years and prohibit Pell Grants for part-time college students. The Head Start program would also be cut by 200,000 students. It would significantly reduce Medicare by restructuring the program to give seniors a fixed stipend to buy health insurance and cut Medicaid, the program that provides health care to needy individuals, by limiting the federal-state sharing arrangement.

Under the proposal, individual tax rates would be decreased and the current six tax brackets, which range from ten to 35 percent, would be replaced with two brackets, one charging ten percent and the other charging a maximum of 25 percent. Democrats are united in opposition to the House passed budget.

The Senate, which is led by Democrats, has made it clear that it will not consider the measure, which means there is little to no chance of the measure being approved. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney criticized the proposal for providing massive tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires "paid for by ending Medicare as we know it and making extremely deep cuts to critical programs needed to create jobs and strengthen the middle class."