Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Wednesday pushed his plan to stop the automatic federal spending cuts that went into effect last month. But it was uncertain, and increasingly unlikely, the Senate will act until next month.

Reid made his case in his opening remarks to the Senate.

"We have seen the devastating impacts of these arbitrary budget cuts. Now it’s time to stop them," he said.  "Last night I introduced legislation that would roll back the sequester for the rest of the year. This bill would give Democrats and Republicans time to sit down at the negotiating table and work out an agreement to reduce the deficit in a balanced way."

Reid would pay for the restoration of funding with savings from the windown of the wars Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Before Republicans dismiss these savings, they should recall that 235 House Republicans voted to use these funds to pay for the Ryan Republican budget. They didn’t consider it a gimmick when it served their own purposes," Reid, D-Nevada, said.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, architect of the House of Representatives' Republican budget plan, was not optimistic Wednesday about a big budget deal.

"I don't want to foreclose any opportunities in the future by commenting on what the process should or should not be or the message that we get to getting something done.  That's point number one," he told reporters.

But, he added, "I guess point number two is I don't think we should talk about a grand bargain.  A grand bargain implies you could actually fix the entire problem.  Our budget does that.  It balances the budget.  It pays off the debt.  It saves Medicare from bankruptcy.  It reforms the tax system."

Ryan, though, thought "We're so far from that with what the president and the Senate has passed and the president has put out that I think we should rationalize our expectations to getting a down payment on the problem.  And the budget process is one of the great -- one of the many vehicles we could use to do that."

So, he said, "I don't think we should be talking about grand bargain because that implies the president and the Senate Democrats are ready to embrace fundamental entitlement reform, which they have shown absolutely no indication of doing so."

The battle for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination is too close (let alone too early) to call.

"There is no frontrunner now," said a Quinnipiac University national survey released Wednesday.

The leader is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, with 19 percent. Trailing are Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 vice presidential nominee, at 17 percent, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, 15 percent, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, 14 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, 10 percent.

But there is this potentially good news for Christie and Bush: By a 59-23 percent margin, Republicans say they prefer a governor with experience. Republicans also get higher marks than Democrats on handling the deficit,though Democrats fare better on health care, same-sex marriage and immigration.

To read more: http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-centers/polling-institute/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=1876

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Monday launced online ads aimed at 17 Republican congressmen it considers vulnerable.

The ads blast the lawmakers for backing the House of Representatives Republican budget last month, a budget that would change the current Medicare system in 10 years and require big cuts in federal spending--but without raising taxes.

Still, said Emily Bittner of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in a statement, “Republicans say this budget is the best way to communicate their ‘governing philosophy,’ so we’re telling the people what that means: more for millionaires and corporate special interests, less for the middle class and seniors."

The House of Representatives plans to debate and vote on a Republican-authored 10 year budget plan next week, and Saturday, Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan made the case for the proposal in the weekly Republican address.

The plan is expected to get virtually no Democratic support, particularly since it dramatically cuts projected domestic spending and endorses changes in Medicare.

Ryan offered this account of his plan:"

Next week, the House of Representatives will vote on a plan to improve the lives of American families by balancing the budget in ten years.

“How do we do it?  Well, it’s pretty simple: we stop spending money we don’t have.  Historically, we’ve paid a little less than one-fifth of our income in taxes to the federal government each year.  But the government has spent more—a lot more.  And the results are plain to see: despite the President’s promise, the stimulus didn’t work.  Today, 46 million people are living in poverty, the highest in a generation.  One in seven workers either can’t find a job or works only part time."

He urged the White House to work with him.

"So today," Ryan said, "We invite President Obama to do what President Clinton did—to work with Republicans in Congress to balance the budget.  He can join in the effort, or he can choose the status quo.  But he must choose."

To see Ryan's remarks: http://www.youtube.com/HouseConference

Mitt Romney came to the conservative political action conference Friday to remind them he'd stand with them, and to urge them to learn from successful governors.

Romney, once regarded as a center-right governor of Massachusetts, told the conservatives, "you were there from the very start and made a difference for me. Your campaign gave me that early boost.  You worked on the front lines promoting my campaign.  You made calls.  I owe to each of you and appreciate your support and help through that campaign."

 He was somewhat reflective.

"We've lost races before in the past.  But those setbacks prepared us for larger victories.  It's up to us to make sure that we learn from our mistakes and my mistakes and that we take advantage of that learning to make sure that we take back the nation, take back the White House, get the Senate and put in place conservative principles," Romney said.

He offered this advice:

"Now, as someone who just lost the last election, I'm probably not in the best position to chart the course for the next one," Romney said.

"But that being said, let me offer this advice.  And perhaps because I'm a former governor, I would urge us all to learn lessons that come from some of our greatest success stories.  And that's 30 Republican governors across the country.

"They're winning elections, but more importantly, they're solving problems, big problems, important problems."

Here's more of Romney's remarks:

President Barack Obama didn't have much to say after his Capitol meeting with Senate Democrats, but Democrats were feeling good about the session.

"Hello, everybody," Obama said as he left the Capitol to a throng of nearly 200 reporters.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was more descriptive.

"This week we're seeing a revealing contrast.  The president's reaching out to Republicans in the Senate, and in the Senate we're working out a bill, bipartisan fashion, to advance a compromise that will fund the government and protect middle- class families," Reid, D-Nevada, said, referring to legislation to keep the government funded through Oct. 1.

But, he said, "on the other side of the building, House Republicans are moving further away from the compromise.  House Republicans are advancing the Ryan Republican budget that's even more extreme than the propaganda we've seen in the past.'

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., unveiled a budget Tuesday that cuts spending dramatically over 10 years, changes the Medicare program after 2024 and has no new taxes.

Obama plans to meet with House Republicans Wednesday.

Paul Ryan's new budget? Sounds like the old Paul Ryan budget to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"The Paul Ryan Budget 3.0 uses the same fuzzy math as his previous two budgets. It relies on accounting that is creative at best and fraudulent at worst to inflate its claims of deficit reduction," the Nevada Democrat said.

Ryan, R-Wisc., unveiled his new plan Tuesday, and while it's expected to pass the Republican-run House of Representatives, Reid made it clear it would go nowhere in the Democratic-run Senate.

Here are Reid's comments:

"Early this year, with November’s election losses fresh in their minds, top Republicans promised a kinder, gentler Republican Party – a Republican Party that cared about “every American…achieving their dreams.” Republicans bandied about words like fairness and opportunity. They made overtures toward women and Hispanics. They promised cooperation and an end to brinksmanship. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor even spoke of, “an agenda based on a shared vision of creating the conditions for health, happiness and prosperity for more Americans and their families.” The rebranding was under way.

"Then a few weeks passed. And the Republican emphasis on fairness and equity passed along with them.

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan plans to unveil a budget plan later Tuesday that would save $4.6 trillion over the next decade while imposing no new taxes.

The Wisconsin Republican's plan, which his committee will consider Wednesday, would also change traditional Medicare. After 2024, seniors would have alternatives.

The plan is expected to get virtually no support from Democrats.

Ryan previewed the plan in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.

Among his comments:

"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.

"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."

To read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323826704578353902612840488.html

Last night it was dinner with Senate Republicans; today it's lunch with top congressional budget-writers.

President Barack Obama plans to have lunch Thursday with House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., top Democrat on the committee.

The effort is another chapter in Obama's new effort to reach out to members of both parties in Congress. Next week he plans to meet with party caucuses, as he seeks common ground on a long range solution to the nation's fiscal chaos.