WASHINGTON — Republicans pushed a balanced-budget blueprint toward Senate approval Thursday, laying down conservative markers for a likely veto struggle with President Barack Obama over plans to erase deficits through trillions in spending cuts and repeal of the nation’s health care law.
Approval of the non-binding budget was certain, one day after the House ratified a slightly different version.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said it included ideas “that could boost jobs, raise annual wages by as much as $5,000 per family and drive economic growth for hardworking Americans.” He cited an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office for his claim.
With 54 seats in the Senate, Republicans could afford three defections and still be assured a majority for the budget. But even that presented a challenge. Four members of the rank and file are likely or announced presidential contenders, and several more face potentially difficult 2016 re-election tests in swing states.
The Senate GOP plan envisions more than $5 trillion in deficit reduction in the next decade without higher taxes. The largest components of deficit reduction, about $4.3 trillion over the decade, would come from benefit programs. That would include repeal of the health care law — a step that Obama has vowed to veto — as well as unspecified reductions from projected growth in Medicaid, food stamps, welfare and other social programs that are also likely to trigger White House opposition.
