Republican Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan attacked President Obama last night over Medicare during a speech at Miami University in Oxford on the same day the president defended his plans for the program.
(Ryan: "What I don't think he'll be telling people is that the President took 716 billion dollars from the medicare program...he raided it...to pay for Obamacare.")
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the federal health care law does not cut Medicare benefits, but cuts fraud and abuse and shifts money to preventative care, thus reducing health care costs and the amount of taxpayer money spent on the program. Ryan told the crowd he and Mitt Romney are inviting debate of Ryan's Medicare plan. The House Budget Committee chair has proposed a voucher-like system that would mean higher out-of-pocket costs fo beneficiaries. The speech was the first time Ryan addressed his Medicare plan with voters since becoming Romney's running mate.