Rep. Paul Ryan joined other congressional Republicans Thursday in arguing that a bipartisan deal to reform Medicare’s formula for paying doctors shows that their party can run Congress and pass big reforms.
“I think we’re showing we’re a majority that is working,” the Wisconsin representative said Thursday following the Medicare vote. “And when we see opportunities to find common ground, we’re advancing big reforms.”
Ryan spoke to reporters in the Capitol immediately after the House voted overwhelmingly to overhaul the Medicare payment formula. The Senate is working to pass the legislation, and President Obama has said that he would sign it. The bill would end years of congressional patches to prevent steep cuts in doctors’ payments.
The legislation, however, was opposed by some fiscal hawks, who argued that it adds to the deficit. The deal was made between Republican and Democratic leaders, bypassing some House conservatives.
Ryan, chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee that has jurisdiction over taxes and many domestic programs, said the legislation could provide a template for further efforts.
House Speaker John Boehner “had a particular impression about how we could get that agreement, he was right on the way we should proceed and we did get the agreement we wanted to get,” Ryan said.
“There’s a formula here for getting things done, and we’re going to try to perfect that formula. And maybe tax reform is one of those areas,” Ryan said.
The Senate and House are working on potential tax-reform legislation with the Obama administration. Many observers have been skeptical that Republicans and Democrats will be able to find common ground, after years of all-out partisan warfare between the two sides.
Ryan said that tax reform talks were “making progress.”
The former vice presidential candidate is also involved in negotiations regarding trade agreements and trade promotion authority with Democrats and the Obama administration, another area where the two sides have said they aim to negotiate legislation.
