Reply #5: Republicans, Democrats Prepare Rival Debt Plans [View All]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-25/republicans-push-dueling-plans-with-democrats-for-raising-u-s-debt-limit.html

Republicans and Democrats prepared dueling plans for raising the U.S. debt ceiling, unable to break a partisan stalemate over how to tackle the nation’s $14.3 trillion debt and quell market concerns about a potential default Aug. 2.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio told fellow Republicans he was determined to force action on a two-step debt-limit extension that would provide a roughly $1 trillion, shorter-term increase than President Barack Obama has requested, defying a veto threat and the administration’s warnings of dire economic consequences. He aimed to unveil his plan as early as today, when he was to update Republicans in a closed-door meeting in the Capitol.

The Senate’s top Democrat Harry Reid, meanwhile, readied his own proposal, which would hand Obama the full $2.4 trillion in additional borrowing authority he has requested -- enough to last through the 2012 elections --tied to a $2.7 trillion package of spending cuts that would leave Medicare and Medicaid untouched, according to a Senate Democratic aide.