Collins Won't Vote for Ryan Plan

The Hill reports:

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine.) said Friday that she will not support the 2012 budget passed by the House last week.

"I don't happen to support Congressman Ryan's plan but at least he had the courage to put forth a plan to significantly reduce the debt," Collins said on "In the Arena" a program on WCSH 6, a local NBC affiliate in Portland, Maine.

Collins is the first Republican senator to state publicly that she will not support the Ryan budget.

The plan, crafted by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), would cut $5.8 trillion in spending over 10 years and transform Medicare into a sort of voucher system, among other measures, to balance the budget by 2040 without raising taxes.

The budget proposal passed the House last Friday but is expected to fail in the Senate. The House voted 235-193 to pass the proposal, with only four Republicans voting aginst it. No Democrat voted for the plan.