President Obama condemned the Republican plan earlier this week. Instead he called for four trillion dollars in government spending cuts and higher taxes for wealthy Americans over twelve years.

A major part of the Ryan plan would change Medicare from a program that directly pays medical bills for retired people. Instead, people would get money to buy health insurance from private companies.

The idea is that competition would save money. But Democrats say the plan would increase costs for older adults and end the forty-six-year-old Medicare program as it now exists. The Ryan plan would also reduce money for Medicaid, a joint federal and state health care program for the poor and disabled.

Congress and the president must now turn their attention to issues like the budget for next year and the debt limit. The debt limit is the amount of money that the government is permitted to borrow. The current limit is more than fourteen trillion dollars -- nearly equal to all the goods and services produced in the United States in a year.

The government is expected to reach that limit next month. But the Treasury Department cannot borrow more money by selling bonds unless Congress acts.

Republicans are threatening to reject Mr. Obama's request to raise the debt limit unless he agrees to bigger spending cuts. But Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says the United States might miss payments on its debts and create another economic crisis.