REALITY CHECK: Paul Ryan And Food Banks

Paul Ryan's plan would slash government funding for crucial programs and food banks that provide food assistance for needy Americans -- the same Americans Ryan was pretending to help.

Mitt thinks it would be easier as a Latino. Actually…. (New video feat. Rosie Perez)

American Bridge has partnered with Jewish Council for Education and Research (of Sarah Silverman, Great Schlep & Samuel L. Jackson video fame) to launch Actually.org. More info on the partnership below. Today we're releasing our first video. It features Rosie Perez taking Romney to task over his "joke" that it would be "helpful" to be Latino.

Facts Matter: The Complete American Bridge Post VP Debate Fact Check Video

Our friend Lyin' Ryan was at it again tonight. Like the Vice President, American Bridge saw a lot of malarkey on stage. Here's the complete American Bridge fact check video on tonight's debate.

DEBATE PREP: American Bridge Releases 13 Issue Briefs On Paul Ryan's Record

In advance of the vice presidential debate, American Bridge has released 13 policy-based research briefings laying out the truth about Republican Vice Presidential Nominee Paul Ryan's record. Find these briefings at the links below.

• Lyin' Ryan
• Romney Supports The Ryan Plan
• Ryan and Energy
• Ryan and "Forcible Rape"
• Ryan and "The 47%"
• Ryan and Veterans
• Ryan and Women
• Ryan and Medicare
• Ryan and Medicaid
• Ryan and Higher Education
• Ryan and K-12 Education
• Ryan and Social Security
• Ryan and Trade

BRIDGE BRIEFING: Ryan And Trade

Ryan Opposed Efforts To Punish China For Currency Manipulation

In 2010, Ryan Opposed The “Currency Reform Fair Trade Act” To Impose Tariffs On Countries With Undervalued Currencies. According to the Boston Globe, “In 2010, when the House voted on the Currency Reform Fair Trade Act, Ryan was among the 79 congressmen who opposed the measure. The bill passed – 348 to 79, with 99 Republicans voting in favor – but was not taken up by the Senate so it never became law. The legislation would have given the president expanded authority to impose tariffs on the imports from countries that have ‘fundamentally undervalued’ currencies.” [Boston Globe, 8/16/12]

BRIDGE BRIEFING: Ryan And Social Security

Ryan Said Social Security Privatization Was Not Necessary, But He Preferred It Personally. According to a transcript of “The Charlie Rose Show,” Ryan was asked, “When you look at that Social Security for a moment, do you think it’s necessary to reform Social Security with private accounts?” Ryan responded, “No, it’s not necessary. I personally prefer it because, look at me, for example. I’m 40 years old. I’ll about a one percent return on my payroll taxes if Social Security could pay me my benefit, which, of course, it can’t… It’s not privatized. It’s managed by the government in safe index funds. It harnesses the power of compound interest so they grow their money at five percent or six percent per year instead of negative one percent. They get better benefits. It’s a nest egg they control that goes to their property.” [PBS, “The Charlie Rose Show,” 11/15/10]

BRIDGE BRIEFING: Ryan And K-12 Education

The Ryan Plan Would Reduce Education Funding By Over $115 Billion Over 10 Years, Undermining Critical Education Programs

Office Of Management And Budget: The Ryan Plan Would Cut Critical Education Programs By Reducing Department Of Education Funding By More Than $115 Billion Over 10 Years. According to a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee press release, “Ryan's Plan Cuts Critical Education Programs. ‘The Department of Education would be cut by more than $115 billion over a decade. 9.6 million students would see their Pell Grants fall by more than $1000 in 2014, and, over the next decade, over one million students would lose support altogether. This would derail bipartisan education reforms and deeply undermine K-12 education and college opportunity [...] Roughly two million slots in Head Start would be eliminated over the next decade -- cutting 200,000 children from the program in 2014 alone.’ [OMB, 3/21/12]” [Targeted News Service, 3/25/12] The Oregonian: The Ryan Plan Would Cut Investments In Education And Training By 53 Percent. “According to the Center for American Progress, the Ryan plan would ‘disinvest’ in education and training by 53 percent, diverting resources away from primary and adult education, career and technical training, community colleges, postsecondary education and student aid, at a time when our world educational status is already in perilous decline.” [The Oregonian, 5/2/11]

BRIDGE BRIEFING: Ryan And Higher Education

Ryan Told Student He Should Work Three Jobs Instead Of Relying On Federal Student Loans

Philadelphia Inquirer: Ryan Told A Student That He Should Work Three Jobs In College Instead Of Relying On Grants. According to a Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial, “It should be remembered that Ryan, a frequent critic of Pell Grants, is the same congressman who suggested to a college student in October that instead of relying on grants he should do what Ryan did - work three jobs to pay for college. The congressman is to be congratulated on his work ethic, but if he believes it is a model for success in college for everyone, he is sorely mistaken.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, Editorial, 2/21/12]

BRIDGE BRIEFING: Ryan And Medicaid

The Ryan Plan Would Block Grant Medicaid To States And Cut Medicaid Spending By $800 Billion Over 10 Years

Ryan Plan Slashes Medicaid By Making It A State Block Grant. According to Sun-Sentinel, “The Ryan budget plan would cut federal spending on Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, and begin distributing money by block grant to states. The plan would do away with Medicare’s direct payment for health care for seniors, replacing it with a voucher system in which recipients choose private insurers. The Congressional Budget Office found that part of the plan, which would take effect in 2022, could nearly double out-of-pocket costs for seniors.” [Sun-Sentinel, 4/16/11] Ryan Budget Would Cut Medicaid By $800 Billion Over Next Ten Years, And Steadily More After That Until Cuts Extended To Over Half Of The Program. According to the Center For Budget And Policy Priorities, “The Ryan plan would cut Medicaid by more than $800 billion over the next ten years and steadily larger amounts after that (on top of the Medicaid reductions that would result from Chairman Ryan’s call to repeal health reform). After several decades, Medicaid would be cut by more than half. Yet Medicaid already costs substantially less per beneficiary than private insurance because it pays health providers rock-bottom rates and has low administrative costs. In addition, its per-beneficiary costs have been rising more slowly than private-sector health care costs. Assertions that Medicaid costs are highly inflated and that states can provide comparable health care for much less money may serve as convenient rationales for severe cuts in health care for some of the nation’s most vulnerable people, but they do not reflect reality. Last year, the Urban Institute estimated that a very similar Ryan Medicaid block-grant proposal would likely cause 14 to 27 million low-income Americans to lose coverage by 2021 (in addition to the 17 million people who no longer would gain coverage due to the repeal of health reform and its Medicaid expansion).” [Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, 3/21/12]

BRIDGE BRIEFING: Ryan And Medicare

The Ryan Plan Would End Medicare As We Know It By Turning The Program Into a Voucher

Wall Street Journal: Ryan Plan Would “Essentially End Medicare.” According to Naftali Bendavid at the Wall Street Journal, “The plan would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills.” [Wall Street Journal, 4/4/11] Wall Street Journal: Romney’s Proposal Would Privatize Medicare. According to the Wall Street Journal, “Mitt Romney waded into the hot-button issue of Medicare, proposing to offer future seniors a choice between the current fee-for-service health plan or a voucher to purchase health insurance plans offered by private insurance companies. The Romney Medicare plan could become a hallmark of the 2012 presidential campaign should he win the Republican nomination. Democrats had already planned to make the Ryan plan a centerpiece of their efforts to unseat Republicans in Congress. Now, Mr. Romney has thrust Medicare privatization into the presidential race.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/4/11]

Medicare Would Be Turned Into A Voucher System

Politifact: Claim That Ryan’s Budget Plan Would Turn Medicare Into A “Voucher” Was Mostly True. According to Politifact, “U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez yesterday attacked a Medicare reform proposal from Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan by claiming it would turn the health care program into a voucher system…It’s accurate that Ryan’s plan, starting in 2023, would provide premium support payments for new beneficiaries to purchase private insurance or a plan that acts like traditional Medicare. The term ‘voucher’ generally describes this approach. We rate the statement Mostly True.” [Politifact, 10/5/12] Ryan’s Alternative Plan To The Health Care Bill Replaced Medicare For Everyone Under 55 With A Voucher System. According to a New York Times column, “In recent weeks, critics have done a nice job highlighting flaws in the White House plan (which Congress is now turning into an actual bill). What the critics have not done nearly so well, however, is explain which politically realistic plan they prefer.  Paul Ryan, the top Republican on the House Budget Committee, has admirably produced a detailed alternative to the Democrats’ plan. It would balance the budget by getting rid of Medicare for everyone under 55 and replacing it with a voucher system. When I recently asked another high-ranking Republican what he thought about the Ryan plan, however, he replied, ‘Paul is very thoughtful.’ Follow-up questions did not yield further details  So I agree that health reform should do more to reduce spiraling medical costs. But saying so doesn’t qualify as hard-headed fiscal realism. In fact, it’s the easy thing to say. The bigger issue is how policy makers can achieve the goal, given the political realities.” [The New York Times, Column, 3/10/10]