America's national debt is over $16 trillion. Yet Washington can't figure out how to cut $85 billion—or just 2% of the federal budget—without resorting to arbitrary, across-the-board cuts. Clearly, the budget process is broken. In four of the past five years, the president has missed his budget deadline. Senate Democrats haven't passed a budget in over 1,400 days. By refusing to tackle the drivers of the nation's debt—or simply to write a budget—Washington lurches from crisis to crisis. 
 
 Related Video Editorial board member Joe Rago on Paul Ryan's budget proposal. Photo: Getty Images 
 
 House Republicans have a plan to change course. On Tuesday, we're introducing a budget that balances in 10 years—without raising taxes. How do we do it? We stop spending money the government doesn't have. Historically, Americans have paid a little less than one-fifth of their income in taxes to the federal government each year. But the government has spent more. 
 
 So our budget matches spending with income. Under our proposal, the government spends no more than it collects in revenue—or 19.1% of gross domestic product each year. As a result, we'll spend $4.6 trillion less over the next decade. 
 
 Our opponents will shout austerity, but let's put this in perspective. On the current path, we'll spend $46 trillion over the next 10 years. Under our proposal, we'll spend $41 trillion. On the current path, spending will increase by 5% each year. Under our proposal, it will increase by 3.4%. Because the U.S. economy will grow faster than spending, the budget will balance by 2023, and debt held by the public will drop to just over half the size of the economy. 
 
 Yet the most important question isn't how we balance the budget. It's why. A budget is a means to an end, and the end isn't a neat and tidy spreadsheet. It's the well-being of all Americans. By giving families stability and protecting them from tax hikes, our budget will promote a healthier economy and help create jobs. Most important, our budget will reignite the American Dream, the idea that anyone can make it in this country. 
 
 The truth is, the nation's debt is a sign of overreach. Government is trying to do too much, and when government does too much, it doesn't do anything well. So a balanced budget is a reasonable goal, because it returns government to its proper limits and focus. By curbing government's overreach, our budget will give families the space they need to thrive. 
 
 Related Video Editorial page editor Paul Gigot on whether Republicans can trust President Obama's overtures. Photo: Getty Images 
 
 The other side will warn of a relapse into recession—just as they predicted economic disaster when the budget sequester hit. But a balanced budget will help the economy. Smaller deficits will keep interest rates low, which will help small businesses to expand and hire. It's no surprise, then, that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office believes that legislation reducing the deficit as much as our budget does would boost gross national product by 1.7% in 2023. 
 
 We must take action now. Our budget will expand opportunity in major areas like energy. It will protect and strengthen key priorities like Medicare. It will encourage social mobility by retooling welfare. It will fix the broken tax code to create jobs and increase wages. 
 
 First, energy. America has the world's largest natural-gas, oil and coal reserves—enough natural gas to meet the country's needs for 90 years. Yet the administration is buying up land to prevent further development. Our budget opens these lands to development, so families will have affordable energy. It approves the Keystone XL pipeline, which will create 20,000 direct jobs—and 118,000 indirect jobs. Our budget puts the country on the path to North American energy independence. 
 
 Related Video Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan on the GOP House budget proposal. Photos: Getty Images 
 
 Second, health care. Our budget repeals the president's health-care law and replaces it with patient-centered reforms. It also protects and strengthens Medicare. I want Medicare to be there for my kids—just as it's there for my mom today. But Medicare is going broke. Under our proposal, those in or near retirement will see no changes, and future beneficiaries will inherit a program they can count on. Starting in 2024, we'll offer eligible seniors a range of insurance plans from which they can choose—including traditional Medicare—and help them pay the premiums. 
 
 The other side will demagogue this issue. But remember: Anyone who attacks our Medicare proposal without offering a credible alternative is complicit in the program's demise. 
 
 Third, welfare reform. After the welfare reforms of 1996, child poverty fell by double digits. This budget extends those reforms to other federal aid programs. It gives states flexibility so they can tailor programs like Medicaid and food stamps to their people's needs. It encourages states to get people off the welfare rolls and onto payrolls. We shouldn't measure success by how much we spend. We should measure it by how many people we help. Those who protect the status quo must answer to the 46 million Americans living in poverty. 
 
 Fourth, tax reform. The current tax code is a Rubik's cube that Americans spend six billion hours—and $160 billion—each year trying to solve. The U.S. corporate tax is the highest in the industrialized world. So our budget paves the way for comprehensive tax reform. It calls for Congress to simplify the code by closing loopholes and consolidating tax rates. Our goal is to have just two brackets: 10% and 25%. House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp has committed to pass a specific bill this year. 
 
 If we take these steps, the United States will once again become a haven of opportunity. The economy will grow, and the country will regain its strength. All we need is leadership. Washington owes the American people a balanced budget. It isn't fair to take more from families so government can spend more. 
 
 A balanced budget isn't unprecedented. President Bill Clinton worked with a Republican Congress to get it done. House Republicans' last two budgets balanced, too—albeit at a later date. But a balanced budget is still a noteworthy achievement, considering the competition. 
 
 The recent debt-ceiling agreement forced Senate Democrats to write a budget this year, and we expect to see it this week. I hate to break the suspense, but their budget won't balance—ever. Instead, it will raise taxes to pay for more spending. The president, meanwhile, is standing on the sidelines. He is expected to submit his budget in April—two months past his deadline. 
 
 We House Republicans have done our part. We're offering a credible plan for all the country to see. We're outlining how to solve the greatest problems facing America today. Now we invite the president and Senate Democrats to join in the effort. 
 
 — Mr. Ryan, a Republican, represents Wisconsin's first congressional district and is chairman of the House Budget Committee. ||||| Sen. Patty Murray’s new budget plan calls for raising tax revenues by nearly $1 trillion while cutting spending by roughly the same amount over the next decade, according to people familiar with the proposal. 
 
 The Budget Committee chairwoman briefed fellow Democratic senators over the new proposal in a closed-door lunch Tuesday that President Barack Obama also attended. Committee deliberations will begin Wednesday, and the panel expects to vote on the plan Thursday before floor debate next week. 
 
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 reset Ryan budget: Break down with Republican strategist Ryan: 'Reviving' budget process 
 
 The plan is a non-binding blueprint that does not carry the force of the law, but it allows each party to lay out its vision and priorities for the coming fiscal year. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Obama budget coming in April) 
 
 Murray’s plan calls for $1.85 trillion in additional deficit reduction over the next decade, Democrats said Tuesday. It calls for $975 billion in spending cuts and an additional $975 billion would be raised through an overhaul of the Tax Code by eliminating certain tax deductions, including ones typically claimed by high earners and corporations. 
 
 And Murray will include fast-track provisions calling on congressional tax writers to draft filibuster-proof legislation that would raise new revenue. The so-called reconciliation provisions have drawn strong objections by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) who argued that the budget parameters would limit his ability to push a full-blown rewrite of the Tax Code. 
 
 Taken with the $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction already taking effect, Democrats argue the Murray approach would produce $4.25 trillion in additional savings over the next decade, a goal called for by budget experts in both parties. 
 
 But critics are certain to jump on what they believe are gimmicks in the Democratic budget plan. For instance, it counts $242 billion that would be saved in reduced interest payments under the proposal. 
 
 In addition, Democrats are also expected to cut $240 billion in defense spending, officials said Tuesday. They say the proposal would slash $493 billion from domestic programs, including $275 billion in health care spending, but they would not go nearly as far as Republican calls to dramatically overhaul Medicare. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Paul Ryan unveils budget plan) 
 
 The proposal calls for the automatic spending cuts — known as sequestration — to be replaced with a mix of different spending cuts and tax increases. The proposal also would call for $100 billion in new spending in infrastructure development and job training programs, which Democrats said would be paid for by eliminating certain tax deductions. ||||| The House Republican budget will balance in 10 years by increasing oil drilling, repealing President Barack Obama’s health care law, changing Medicare, overhauling welfare and rewriting the tax code. 
 
 The framework won’t be unveiled until Tuesday, but House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) peeled back the curtain Monday night in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. 
 
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 Ryan writes that “the government spends no more than it collects in revenue” under the GOP plan. 
 
 “Our opponents will shout austerity, but let’s put this in perspective,” Ryan writes. “On the current path, we’ll spend $46 trillion over the next 10 years. Under our proposal, we’ll spend $41 trillion. On the current path, spending will increase by 5 percent each year. Under our proposal, it will increase by 3.4 percent. Because the U.S. economy will grow faster than spending, the budget will balance by 2023, and debt held by the public will drop to just over half the size of the economy.” 
 
 The op-ed shows that the budget won’t be a bundle of new surprises. Tax reform, Ryan says, will close loopholes and collapse the complex tax code to two brackets: 10 percent and 25 percent. 
 
 (Also on POLITICO: Senate takes own path on CR) 
 
 Ryan highlights welfare reform, noting that the last time Congress reformed government assistance “child poverty fell by double digits.” 
 
 “This budget extends those reforms to other federal aid programs,” Ryan wrote. “It gives states flexibility so they can tailor programs like Medicaid and food stamps to their people’s needs. It encourages states to get people off the welfare rolls and onto payrolls. We shouldn’t measure success by how much we spend. We should measure it by how many people we help. Those who protect the status quo must answer to the 46 million Americans living in poverty.” ||||| Ryan Says His Budget Would Balance In 10 Years 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Michael Sears /MCT /Landov Michael Sears /MCT /Landov 
 
 (Note at 11:20 a.m. ET: Scroll down to see the GOP plan, which has now been released; new comments from Rep. Ryan; and White House reaction.) 
 
 House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, unveiled his latest budget plan Tuesday morning — and as NPR's Tamara Keith told our Newscast Desk, he says it would bring the federal budget in balance by 2023. 
 
 Ryan's previous proposal, he said, would balance the budget in 20 years. How has he cut 10 years off that time? The "fiscal cliff" deal reached as 2012 turned into 2013 "raises $600 billion in tax revenue over the next decade," Tamara reported, "and Ryan is including that in his new budget." 
 
 "Otherwise," she added, "Ryan has telegraphed that his new plan will include many of the same cuts as past GOP budgets, most notably it would convert Medicare into a premium support program." 
 
 On the op/ed pages of The Wall Street Journal today, Ryan makes his case for the new plan. 
 
 "How do we do it?" he writes. "We stop spending money the government doesn't have. ... Our budget matches spending with income. Under our proposal, the government spends no more than it collects in revenue — or 19.1% of gross domestic product each year. As a result, we'll spend $4.6 trillion less over the next decade. ... "Our opponents will shout austerity, but let's put this in perspective. On the current path, we'll spend $46 trillion over the next 10 years. Under our proposal, we'll spend $41 trillion. On the current path, spending will increase by 5% each year. Under our proposal, it will increase by 3.4%. Because the U.S. economy will grow faster than spending, the budget will balance by 2023, and debt held by the public will drop to just over half the size of the economy." 
 
 President Obama and his fellow Democrats, of course, have other ideas about how to get the federal government books in order. Politico this morning looks at the president's new efforts to reach out to some Republicans in order to cut a deal. It concludes though, that "the expectations for both a sustainable civil alliance and a grand bargain remain low for one very simple reason: The parties are further apart on taxes and entitlements than they were in 2011 when Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) first entered into talks and came close to striking the ever-elusive grand bargain." 
 
 Update at 11:20 a.m. ET. White House Says Ryan's Math "Just Doesn't Add Up." 
 
 In a statement just sent to reporters, the White House says, in part: 
 
 "While the House Republican budget aims to reduce the deficit, the math just doesn't add up. Deficit reduction that asks nothing from the wealthiest Americans has serious consequences for the middle class. By choosing to give the wealthiest Americans a new tax cut, this budget as written will either fail to achieve any meaningful deficit reduction, raise taxes on middle class families by more than $2,000 – or both. ... "The president has put forward a balanced approach to deficit reduction with no sacred cows. It includes more Medicare savings over the next decade than the House Republican budget, but it does so by cracking down on waste and fraud, not by asking middle class seniors to bear the burden. It closes tax loopholes for the wealthiest and biggest corporations so we can still afford to create jobs by investing in education, manufacturing, infrastructure, and small businesses. The President's plan puts our nation on a fiscally sustainable path and grows our economy from the middle class out. "While the president disagrees with the House Republican approach, we all agree we need to leave a better future for our children. The President will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to grow the economy and cut the deficit in a balanced way. This is the approach the American people overwhelmingly support, and that is what the president will continue to fight for each day." 
 
 Update at 10:55 a.m. ET. Ryan Says He Won't Surrender His Principles: 
 
 Ryan is holding a news conference this hour. A reporter noted that he's pitched a similar budget plan before — one that focuses on cuts in projected spending and eschews tax increases — and in the time since then was on the losing presidential ticket. 
 
 Should losing an election mean "we surrender our principles?" Ryan asks. That Republicans should "stop believing in what we believe in?" 
 
 "We think we owe the country a balanced budget," he says, and "solutions" to the nation's problems. 
 
 Update at 10 a.m. ET. The Plan Is Out: 
 
 Ryan's "Path to Prosperity; a Responsible, Balanced Budget," plan is now out. As Tamara notes, "it calls for the repeal of the president's healthcare law, and approval of the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline. It would cut growth in programs for the poor by turning them over to the states. And for future seniors, it would convert Medicare into a premium support program."
– Paul Ryan is unveiling his latest budget proposal, and this time, he says, it'll balance in 10 years—half the time he claimed for his previous budget, NPR notes, because he's including new revenue from the fiscal cliff deal. As promised, the new plan calls for repealing ObamaCare, to be replaced with "patient-centered reforms," Ryan writes in the Wall Street Journal. Ryan would also boost oil drilling and reform Medicare, the tax code, and welfare, Politico reports. "On the current path, we’ll spend $46 trillion over the next 10 years. Under our proposal, we’ll spend $41 trillion," Ryan writes. "Because the US economy will grow faster than spending, the budget will balance by 2023, and debt held by the public will drop to just over half the size of the economy." Among his proposals: On taxes: Instead of the current "Rubik's cube," "our goal is to have just two brackets: 10% and 25%," Ryan writes. On welfare: "After the welfare reforms of 1996, child poverty fell by double digits," he notes. The budget would let states "tailor programs like Medicaid and food stamps to their people's needs." As for Medicare: "Starting in 2024," seniors will see "a range of insurance plans from which they can choose—including traditional Medicare." It will be "a premium support program," notes NPR. Meanwhile, Patty Murray, Democrat head of the Senate Budget Committee, is proposing her own plan, which would raise tax revenues by almost $1 trillion as it cuts spending to the same extent, Politico reports. She'll meet with party members, including President Obama, today.