09
Sep
2012
Lange says he won't reveal position on Ryan Budget until he's done reading bill
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA -- A group of concerned Iowans delivered a copy of Rep. Paul Ryan's budget to Ben Lange's campaign headquarters today, urging Lange to finish reading the bill so he can give Iowa voters a straight answer on whether he supports the plan or opposes it.
Lange already supports the key proposals in the Ryan Budget, including provisions that would turn Medicare into a voucher program and end Social Security's guaranteed benefits to gamble retirement savings on the stock market. But Lange says that because he hasn't read the entire Ryan Budget, he can't say whether he'd vote for it or against it.
Mike Olson of Cedar Rapids said, "Back in March, Ben Lange said he started reading the Ryan Budget. But since he hasn't finished yet, we figured he might have lost his copy. So we're delivering a fresh printout to Ben's office so he can finish what he started and give Iowans a clear answer on whether he supports the Ryan Budget or not.
"We know Ben supports the big ideas in the Ryan Budget, like turning Medicare into a voucher program and privatizing Social Security. But with all his talk of political courage, we think Ben should level with Iowa voters and just tell us if he'd vote for the Ryan Budget bill or against it."
The Ryan Budget can be downloaded at the following link: http://1.usa.gov/NvuuBL. The full bill itself, H. Con. Res. 34, can be downloaded here: http://1.usa.gov/ObbHky
Lange has said repeatedly he supports phasing out Social Security and Medicare's guaranteed benefits for workers under age 55 - proposals taken practically word-for-word from Rep. Paul Ryan's budget proposals.
Yet for months, Lange has refused to say whether he'd vote for or against the Ryan Budget, saying he can't take a position because he hasn't read the bill:
- In March, Lange said in St. Donatus that he would take a position on the Ryan Budget when he "completed" reading it. VIDEO: http://youtu.be/
72IM0lZlW7A
- In July, Lange told Iowans in Marshalltown he hadn't "read every aspect of [Ryan's] budget plan." VIDEO: http://youtu.be/
6zat3GVP-Sc
- Finally, last week, Lange told the Des Moines Register editorial board that "I haven't read his [Ryan's] entire plan. That's why I always say to folks I haven't signed on whole cloth either way to it." VIDEO: http://youtu.be/
eptLiiIoKu4
For more information on Lange's avoidance of taking a position on the Ryan Budget, visithttp://www.realbenlange.com/
