Speaker Paul Ryan isn’t bothered that President Trump’s budget outline doesn’t include any changes to entitlement spending because there is still time to make those reforms for future retirees.
“We’ve never proposed to change benefits for current seniors and people who are about to retire,” he said on NBC. “In the 10-year budget window … we have never proposed that.”
.@SpeakerRyan tells @MLauer about the plan to repeal and replace Obamacare #TODAYonthehill. https://t.co/DekefbEWZu— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 28, 2017
“These programs will be bankrupt by the time we get there, we need to reform them by the time we get there,” he added.
Ryan said Trump’s promise to hike military spending while cutting spending from other areas is part of a Republican plan to build up a “hollowed out” military. Trump has taken some flack for not proposing any changes to Medicare or Social Security, which many experts say must be the focus to reduce the debt.
Ryan said repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act is the primary concern at this point, and House Republicans are working on a bill currently with the Senate and the White House.
When asked why Republicans haven’t presented a plan to the public for replacing Obamacare, despite having run on such a plan for the last several elections, Ryan said it’s a collaborative process that takes time.
“We’re not writing some bill in a back room in Harry Reid’s office like Obamacare was written,” he said. “We’re going through the committee process, we’re doing the step-by-step, we’re having public hearings, we’re having committees work on legislation.”
He said a major course correction is needed because Democrats set Obamacare up to fail.
“Obamacare is collapsing. Obamacare — the Democrats got too far ahead on their ideology and they have us a system where government runs healthcare,” he said. “Now, we have a collapsing marketplace. We really believe we’re in a rescue mission here.”
Ryan, who’s been focused on healthcare and budgetary policy for years in the House, said he wasn’t taken aback by Trump’s Monday statement that “nobody knew healthcare could be so complicated.”
“He’s a business guy who came to office, not some policy wonk who’s been working on healthcare,” Ryan said.
Trump’s role isn’t to be deeply involved in policy details, he said.
“I see him as more of a chairman … where he gets people around him who can execute those plans [of his advisers],” Ryan said.
