Ryan to Introduce GOP Budget Proposal Next Week

Would eliminate budget shortfall by 2023

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan plans to release next week a budget proposal that, at least on paper, will reach the politically important milestone of erasing the government's deficit.

The plan, which aides say will be unveiled March 12, will show how Republicans would eliminate the budget shortfall by 2023, when it is projected to total $978 billion.

That's far more ambitious than previous iterations of Ryan's tax-and-spending plans, the last of which wouldn't have balanced the government's books until 2040. The additional cuts that would be needed are "modest," he said today in a meeting with reporters.