GOP Appeal to Conservatives with Health Care, Immigrant Cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trying to win over conservatives, House Republicans are sweetening their budget proposal by putting several programs on the chopping block, including President Barack Obama's health care law and tax credits for children of immigrants living in the country illegally.

But cuts to programs like food stamps are on hold and a drive to cap medical malpractice awards has faltered before a GOP-controlled committee, though cuts to Medicaid and a popular program that provides health coverage to children have advanced.

Still, it may not be enough. The effort could fade if the party's broader budget plan sinks.

The strategy behind the cuts is to increase support for the budget, a nonbinding measure that sets a more than $1.1 trillion overall cap next fiscal year for the operating budgets of federal agencies.

(Story by: Andrew Taylor, The Associated Press)