VOA News July 29 2011
Ignoring Senate opposition, the US House of representatives has approved a revised plan to cut spending and raise the country's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit, in an effort to avoid a default next week.
House lawmakers voted 218 to 210 Friday on the plan, which calls for raising the U.S. borrowing limit in exchange for more than $900 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years.
The plan was put forth by House Speaker John Boehner, who put off a Thursday vote on the measure because he had too few votes to pass it. Republicans later changed elements of the plan.
For its part, the Senate may vote later Friday on a separate plan aimed at enabling the U.S. government to pay all of its bills and avoid a default. That plan, led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, would cut government spending by $2.5 trillion, while raising the legal limit on borrowing enough to fund the government through the end of 2012. It remains to be seen whether the House and Senate can fashion a compromise bill before next week, when the government could default.
Earlier Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama said it is increasingly urgent that Democrats and Republicans in Congress agree on a measure to increase the legal limit on government borrowing, and cut spending. He said the two sides are in rough agreement on how much spending to cut, and on a process to reform taxes and reduce spending on social programs.
The U.S. will run out of money to pay its bills if the country's $14.3 trillion debt limit is not raised by August 2.
President Obama said Reid has put forward a plan that could be the basis for compromise, and added that the Senate's top Republican has offered useful ideas. The president criticized House Republicans for continuing work on Boehner's proposal, which Mr. Obama said could not become law.
Boehner's original plan would raise the borrowing limit in exchange for more than $900 billion in spending cuts over the next 10 years.
Members of the conservative Tea Party faction of the Republican Party say Boehner's plan does not cut enough spending.
UPDATE from VOA News:
House Debt Ceiling Bill Voted down by Senate
The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to cut spending and raise the debt ceiling. The Democratic-controlled Senate moved quickly, however, to vote to kill the House bill. It's a high-stakes political battle to avoid the United States' first ever national default on its $14.3 trillion debt by August 2.
But just two hours after the House vote, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid moved to hold a vote to kill the House bill, and it passed with 59 Senators voting for it and 41 voting against it. Senator Reid is pushing the Senate to pass his own separate version of a bill that would cut spending and raise the debt ceiling until after the 2012 elections.
Earlier, Democratic senators warned that requiring that a balanced budget amendment pass both chambers of Congress would virtually guarantee that the nation defaults on its debt when the proposed second vote on raising the debt ceiling is held in six months time.
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