WASHINGTON (AP) - Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen is helping the Obama administration counter Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.

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The debate is not new for Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House budget committee that Ryan chairs. Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter told The Baltimore Sun that there are few better than Van Hollen at explaining the choices voters face.

Van Hollen has traveled to New Hampshire and North Carolina to counter Ryan's plans to cut taxes and spending and use vouchers to overhaul Medicare.

He also plans to help Vice President Joe Biden prepare to debate Ryan. And he also has a re-election battle of his own, facing Republican Ken Timmerman in a redrawn district that includes parts of Montgomery County as well as more conservative Frederick and Carroll counties.