Reid continues to attack GOP budget

Almost three weeks after the Senate voted to defeat the Republicans' budget plan for fiscal year 2012, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is continuing to attack the proposal.

“We know Republicans have put together a budget that destroys Medicare,” said Reid from the floor on Tuesday. “That’s what we have received, we voted on it over here, it was turned down.”

The GOP plan, written by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), would give seniors payment support for health insurance plans. Democrats' portrayal of the plan as a threat to the longevity of the popular program has resonated among seniors in particular.

Reid also said it was a contradiction that Republicans were pushing to preserve billions of dollars in tax credits to the oil industry last month while simultaneously supporting the Ryan plan that would cut $5.8 trillion in spending over 10 years.

“It appears clear they would rather balance the budget on the backs of seniors,” said Reid on Tuesday, repeating a line popular among Democratic lawmakers. “Protecting seniors on Medicare is our top priority.