Courtesy Photo­Image Paul Ryan

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has named his running mate – Paul Ryan -- a relatively young U.S. congressman from Wisconsin.

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Ryan, 42, is chairman of the budget committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is the primary author of a proposed Republican budget for the U.S. government. He has been a member of Congress since 1999.

Romney, the apparent Republican Party victor in the race for President, announced Saturday morning that Ryan is his vice-presidential choice.

Ryan has studied economics and political science. He was a congressional intern and speechwriter before running for Congress. He was 29 when he was elected to represent the area near Janesville.

In recent years, Ryan has attracted attention because of his proposed federal budget. It contains cuts in Social Security, defense, Medicare and income tax rates. It is sometimes regarded as a step in the direction of a federal consumption (sales) tax.

Ryan’s budget, called Path to Prosperity, phases out Medicare's traditional payments, instead offering fixed amounts in "vouchers" that beneficiaries would use to buy private insurance. The proposal has been criticized because the vouchers wouldn’t be enough to cover medcial costs if they continue to increase.

Ryan was born and raised in Janesville, Wisc., where he still lives when Congress is not in session. He and his wife Janna have three children. He is an avid fitness buff, motivated by the heart troubles and relatively early deaths of his father and grandfather. He likes to hunt and fish. He is a football fan and a Roman Catholic.

Janesville is about 45 miles southwest of Milwaukee.