Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis), speaking at CPAC 2011 in Washington, D.C. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

The Wall Street Journal reported the budget also targeted several major federal programs. Among these: repealing President Obama's health care plan, taking steps to eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and turning Medicaid and the food stamp system into block-grant programs. It would also cut Medicaid growth by $810 billion over the course of a decade.

According to WSJ, Ryan's plan also put forward a reduction in the federal work force by 10 percent via attrition over the next three years, and restoring a number of Obama's military cuts.

The $261-billion deficit reduction proposal is Republicans' strategy for avoiding $1.2 trillion in spending cuts slated to take effect in January, but it also has larger implications in an election year.

From WSJ:

As the Republican presidential nominees continue to battle it out, Mr. Ryan's budget is arguably the closest thing the GOP has to a broad policy platform. Mr. Ryan took advantage of the spotlight to articulate a sweeping small-government philosophy and to take shots at Mr. Obama and the Democrats.

"For years, bad policies advanced by both political parties have contributed to an irresponsible build-up of debt in the economy, and this debt now poses a fundamental challenge to the American way of life," the budget says.

After taking note of the financial meltdown, the document adds, "Unfortunately, in the years following the meltdown, the President and his party's leaders failed to use their full control of Washington to offer any plan to lift the debt and foster sustainable economic growth. Instead, the crisis was used as an excuse to enact unprecedented and counterproductive expansions of government power."

The budget is almost certain not to become law, given the opposition of Senate Democrats and Mr. Obama. It serves more as a statement of Republican goals for the campaign and as an opening bargaining position for talks likely to take place after the election on spending, deficits and taxes.

Something that might please taxpayers, the plan would also reduce taxes on corporations and individuals to a top rate of 25 percent, grouping individuals into two brackets—10 and 25 percent—instead of six.

Republicans are framing the proposal as a simplification of the tax code, but according to WSJ, Democrats have called them out for allegedly inviting the threat of government shutdown to appease conservative voters

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