Paul Ryan’s Plan: Broad Vision And Small Steps

As he shifts from chairing the broad philosophical debates of the House Budget Committee to the nuts-and-bolts governing of the Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Paul Ryan says he’s still going to push for big conservative goals like tax and entitlement reform — but he’s more willing to take baby steps to get there.

In an interview with POLITICO on Wednesday, the Wisconsin Republican said he’s going to use his new perch in the House to pursue what he calls “phase one” of tax reform — focusing only on the business Tax Code — while understanding that he’s not going to get it all while President Barack Obama is in office.

But that doesn’t mean he’s giving up on the big ideas he’s pitching to shape the Republican Party’s agenda for 2016 — and possibly keep his options open for a White House run of his own. He’ll keep talking up his Medicare premium support plan and repeal of Obamacare, even though he doesn’t expect either has a shot before the end of Obama’s term.

“What I’ve always tried to do is lay out a very broad vision, a big vision that shows what you’re trying to accomplish in totality — what does that horizon look like?” Ryan said. “And then, because you can’t get everything you want at a singular moment, take incremental steps.”
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