Dems seek to rewrite Ryan healthcare proposals

House Democrats sought to undo key portions of Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) new budget by offering amendments that would preserve the Affordable Care Act and the status quo in Medicare.

Democrats on the Budget Committee, which Ryan leads, also entered Wednesday's markup armed with language to counteract Ryan's plan to block-grant Medicaid, a move that would expel tens of million of people from the program. 

Ryan's Democratic counterpart, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), blamed Republicans for wanting to "have it both ways with ObamaCare in this budget" — repealing the program but using its savings to reduce the deficit.

"It is simply a hoax to say this budget both balances in ten years and repeals ObamaCare," Van Hollen said. "The dirty little secret is that this budget would not balance if not for the Medicare savings and all the revenues from ObamaCare."

None of the Democratic amendments were expected to pass the budget panel, where the GOP has a majority.

One proposal would end tax breaks for oil companies, corporate jets and people making above $450,000 in exchange for more Medicaid funding. Another would prevent cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps.

Democrats also re-offered their plan to replace the sequester for one year by raising taxes and paring back farm subsidies. 

Ryan defended his budget by saying it will prevent a U.S. debt crisis.

"By living beyond our means, we’re stealing from the next generation," Ryan writes in the proposal. "By promising a higher standard of living today, the federal government is guaranteeing a lower standard of living tomorrow."

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