Steelman: Would “love” to vote for Ryan plan

Former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, R-Rolla (CAMPAIGN PHOTO)

– Ten weeks after the Paul Ryan budget proposal was announced, and two weeks since the U.S. Senate took a preliminary on the proposal,  Senate hopeful Sarah Steelman, R., said she would vote for the plan.

She announced her position in a web town hall hosted by the SEMO Times in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

“I would love to be able to vote for the Ryan plan. It’s a very serious plan and he had a lot of courage to put that out on the table and I’m glad he did,” Steelman said. “It’s definitely a good start.”

This comes just days after Steelman blasted changes included in the Ryan plan that would substantially effect Medicare for Americans under 55. Opponents say that the Ryan plan would cost Medicare recipients nearly $1 billion over the next decade.

“The Republican plan to end Medicare would have a devastating impact on Missouri’s economy and seniors. A vote for the bill is the same as a vote to end Medicare,” said Caitlin Legacki, spokesman for the Missouri Democratic Party. “It’s no wonder Sarah spent weeks trying to hide her position in this.”

Her position today puts her in line with most of her party, and lines her up with her primary opponent Rep. Todd Akin, who was on stage with Ryan at his announcement. Sen. Claire McCaskill, who both Steelman and Akin hope to replace, voted against debate on the plan in the Senate.

Steelman had not taken a direct position on it until today. On a radio show Wednesday evening, Steelman said she did not think it was an “either/or” question of whether she’d vote for the plan, but said there were parts she did like, and parts she did not.

Earlier that day, Steelman released a web video comparing cuts in the Ryan plan to cuts in the Affordable Care Act, and said she did not like the changes to Medicare in either.

For weeks, the Missouri Democratic Party has prodded Steelman, hoping to get an answer on whether she supports the plan. The Medicare issue has already won an election for Democrats in New York’s conservative 26^th district. There, a Democrat was able to beat a assumedly safe Republican by channeling the Medicare issue.

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