The Hill News

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) vowed Monday night to bring Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget plan from last year up for a vote in the Senate.

Sanders, the liberal independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he'd seek to force a vote to put GOP senators on the record about whether or not they support Ryan's "Roadmap for America's Future."

"I will do my best to bring the Ryan plan to the floor of the United States Senate, to give my Republican colleagues the opportunity to vote to privatize Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare and make massive cuts on programs needed by ordinary people at the same time as they give tax breaks to the rich," Sanders said Monday evening on MSNBC.

The move is part of a broader effort by Democrats to tar the GOP with the details of Ryan! 's "Roadmap," a plan he proposed last year as ranking member of the House Budget Committee, which includes spending cuts and entitlement reforms including a partial privatization of Social Security.

That effort has picked up steam in recent days, after Republicans picked Ryan, who's now the chairman of the budget panel, was picked to deliver the official response to President Obama's State of the Union address this evening. Democrats have pounced on Ryan and sought to paint his plan as representative of the entire GOP. The plan was introduced initially as Ryan! 's personal proposals, though some other senior Republicans ha! ve embra ced its ideas.

The prospect of a Senate vote on the proposals would force the GOP to put its money where it's mouth is, so to speak. If the party's members were to vote for it, Democrats could use the votes for spending cuts against them on the campaign trail. If they voted it down, Ryan's audacious plan would be effectively neutered.

"If that`s what they want to campaign on, let them vote on that. And if they don`t bring that forward, I will do my best to see that they have that vote," Sanders said.

Sanders has been a foremost critic of austerity measures under consideration by lawmakers in both parties, and the Obama administration. He's fought in particular to preserve Social Security in its current form. Sanders said Monday night that, if Ryan's plan were to be brought up for a vote, he expected most Republicans to vote it down.