Â鶹ŮÓÅ

Forget about Paul Ryan’s Medicare privatization plan. The same with other entitlement reforms. And never mind offsetting defense spending increases. In almost every instance, sources describe a GOP budget deal in which political practicality beats out ideology as Republican leaders tack toward the party’s center now that they’re in control of both chambers. The final agreement was expected to be unveiled Monday evening until Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) announced he would not sign the deal without explanation. (Bade, 4/27)

House and Senate GOP negotiators hit a snag in talks to construct a budget blueprint late Monday over a gimmick that would boost defense spending, but not have the extra dollars count against the federal deficit. ... Republicans plan to use the special filibuster-proof bill to wage an assault on Obama's Affordable Care Act rather than try to impose a variety of painful cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, student loans, and other so-called mandatory programs over Obama's opposition. Obama is sure to veto any attempt to repeal the health law, too, but Republicans want to deliver such a measure to Obama anyway. The GOP plan is generally similar to cuts proposed by former Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., — whose budget was largely endorsed by Mitt Romney as the duo formed the GOP presidential ticket in 2012 — with one significant difference. This year's compromise drops Ryan's plan to change Medicare into a voucher-like program for retirees joining the program in 2024. (4/28)

Sen. Bob Corker is holding up a much-awaited GOP budget deal, barring Republican leadership and top budget negotiators Monday night from filing the agreement that was weeks in the making, his office confirmed to POLITICO. The Tennessee Republican’s office would not say why, but his refusal to sign on to the deal stops the agreement in its path for the time being. Corker’s vote is needed to advance the fiscal blueprint, which GOP leadership hopes to pass this week before the House goes on recess the first week of May. (Bade, 4/27)

The deal would increase military spending and take aim at President Obama’s signature health care law. It would also cut education and entitlement programs, like Medicare, but negotiators dropped a proposal by Representative Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin and a former chairman of the House Budget Committee, to turn Medicare into a largely private voucher program. Under the deal, Congress would use a procedural process known as reconciliation to repeal, or at least begin to undo, the Affordable Care Act. (Parker, 4/27)

Passing a budget will allow Republicans the opportunity to use budget "reconciliation" procedures to dismantle "Obamacare" with only a simple majority vote in the Senate, rather than a near-impossible 60 vote margin that would require some Democratic support. As reported by Reuters last week, the compromise budget will exclude Representative Paul Ryan's longstanding proposals to convert the Medicare health program for seniors to a system of subsidies for largely private health insurance. (Lawder, 4/27)

House and Senate GOP negotiators neared agreement Monday on a budget blueprint that would enable Republicans controlling Congress to more easily target President Barack Obama's signature health care law while delivering an almost $40 billion budget boost to the Pentagon. (4/27)

Republicans are usually cast as the "Party of No" in today's Congress. But it was Democrats like [Rep. Ami] Bera in competitive electoral environments who formed the largest bloc of "no" voters during last month's budget debate, the first opportunity lawmakers had this year to weigh in on the crucial taxing and spending battles ahead. A Republican proposal — cutting social safety-net programs, lowering tax rates and raising spending on defense — eventually passed along mostly party lines, 228 to 199, setting the stage for negotiations with the Senate. (Bierman, 4/27)

Capitol Hill lawmakers will soon be wrestling over the future of one of the nation’s biggest food-assistance programs, and the makers of infant formula are among the unlikely players in the middle of the scrum. The law authorizing the $6 billion-a-year WIC program, which provides food vouchers to pregnant or postpartum women and their young children, is up for renewal this year. One of the largest formula makers has suggested the program’s eligibility should be tightened, noting that it has up to 20% more recipients than the government intended. Much like the government’s separate food-stamp program, WIC expanded during the recession—reaching a peak of 9.2 million participants in 2010—and has since contracted to about 8.3 million women and children. (Tracy, 4/27)