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In what amounted to political theater rather than legislative action, the Senate on Wednesday rejected a House budget plan that included a controversial provision to overhaul Medicare and also unanimously voted down President Barack Obama's 2012 budget proposal.

The House budget measure had been expected to fail in the Senate due to overwhelming opposition by majority Democrats, plus wavering support for its Medicare overhaul among Republicans. The Senate GOP has recognized the provision's unpopularity with senior citizens enrolled in the government-run health insurance program.

Senate Democrats forced Wednesday's vote in order to make Senate Republicans go on record in support of the Medicare overhaul.

The final vote on the proposal originated by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, was 57-40, mostly along party lines. Republicans who joined the majority Democrats in opposing the measure were Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine.

Three senators didn't vote -- Republicans Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Pat Roberts of Kansas, and Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York.

In a later retaliatory vote forced by Republicans, the Senate achieved rare bipartisan unanimity in rejecting Obama's budget plan on a 97-0 vote. The defeat was expected.

Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the plan to signal they wanted a stronger deficit reduction proposal than what the president offered.

The Senate then defeated two other Republican budget plans offered by conservative newcomers Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Paul.

Ryan's plan, which won approval in the House due to strong Republican support, drew the most attention of the proposals defeated Wednesday because of its provision to rework Medicare starting in 2022.

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