Republican Senator challenges Medicaid cuts

The Associated Press reports that Oregon Senator Gordon Smith, a Republican, is trying to stop all $14 billion in Medicaid cuts from the Senate's budget. Smith's move could raise questions about how much deficit reduction the GOP can achieve, even at a time of record shortfalls.

Medicaid, a joint federal-state program, provides health care to about 50 million low-income and disabled people and has become a major portion of many states' budgets.