GOP Drops Plan to Gut Medicare

There’s a reason entitlement programs are the third rail of budget policy. Republican leaders said Wednesday they would no longer pursue the part of their budget plan that would overhaul Medicare, and they agreed to focus on cuts that both parties agree on. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor insisted the Republican Party as a whole is convinced Medicare and similar federal programs need to be radically reformed, but he said that President Obama had “excoriated us” over the proposal. Cantor said Republicans had compiled a list of cuts to federal programs that would save $715 billion over the next decade—including reining in farm subsidies, limiting lawsuits against doctors, and expanding government auctions of the broadcast spectrum—although Cantor did dismiss tax hikes as a “nonstarter.” Republicans and Democratic leaders will meet with Vice President Joe Biden next week.