By Steve Dzubay

 

 

WASHINGTON D.C. -- House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan of Janesville says he wants to reform federal programs for the poor without a net reduction in spending, but at least one Wisconsin Democrat doesn't buy it.

 

Milwaukee Representative Gwen Moore said the block grants Ryan's talking about are a "proxy for the chopping block." Moore said it would lead to cuts in programs that benefit the poor.

 

Ryan said that at first, states would choose to test his idea of merging up to eleven anti-poverty programs with a single block grant. He said the states would also get more flexibility to better tailor the federal aid to their own needs. Moore said she liked other parts of the Ryan package, which would expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for the poor, and reduce prison populations by reforming sentences for non-violent offenders.

 

The ranking Democrat on the House budget panel, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, said some of Ryan's stated ideas conflict with the spending cuts that he and other House Republicans have voted for.

 

In Van Hollen's words, "Watch what they do, not what they say."

 

 

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