Gay rights: Ryan has voted against allowing same-sex couples to adopt, and opposed repealing the ban on gays serving openly in the armed forces. He has voted twice against hate crimes protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. And he’s voted for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Nevertheless, in a break with many members of his party, Ryan voted in 2007 for a bill that would prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Social Security: Ryan has said poorer seniors should receive “more targeted assistance than those who have had ample opportunity to save for retirement” as part of the solution to the program’s long-term insolvency. He’s spoken favorably of proposals to grow benefits for wealthier retirees more slowly than for others. Ryan has also backed the idea, popular with Republican lawmakers, to let future retirees invest a portion of their Social Security contributions privately.Guns: Ryan is an outdoorsman who has a top rating from gun-rights groups. He voted to protect gun manufacturers and sellers from lawsuits stemming from misuse of the guns. He also voted to shorten the gun-purchase waiting period from three days to one.
Abortion: The Catholic congressman is staunchly against abortion rights and backed by several anti-abortion groups. He co-sponsored the Sanctity of Human Life Act and Right to Life Act, which both say life begins at the moment of fertilization. Despite his voting record, he’s given little indication, especially in recent years, that he wants to go to the ramparts on the issue.
Medicare:He wants a plan more like a 401(k) that steers future retirees into private insurance plans with fixed payments from government that may or may not cover as much of their costs as does the current program. He would also gradually raise the eligibility age from the current 65 to 67. Ryan would turn Medicaid over to the states.
Budget: Ryan is the primary author of conservative tax and spending blueprints that Republicans on the House approved over Democratic opposition in 2011 and again in 2012. His plan would cut projected spending for Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, as well as food stamps, student loans and other social programs. In all, it projects spending cuts of $5.3 trillion over a decade and would cut future projected deficits substantially. It also envisions a far-reaching overhaul of the tax code of the sort Romney has promised.
Denver Post wire services
