Late last night, President Obama announced that Democrat and Republican leaders had agreed on a plan with Obama's approval to raise the debt ceiling. The plan would prevent any possible defaults that could occur on August 2 if the deal is not passed in Congress.
The plan is still subject to congressional approval, and many Democrats and Republicans are already speaking out against it. Check out a summary of the deal after the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
As the Daily Caller's Amanda Carey explained, the deal has a similar framework to House Speaker John Boehner's original plan.
According to a summary of the bill provided by Speaker of the House John Boehner’s office, the plan immediately cuts discretionary spending by $917 billion over ten years, and raises the debt ceiling by $900 billion. There are no tax hikes included.
The debt limit increase is expected to last until February. Like the Boehner plan that was tabled in the Senate on Friday, the current plan requires a vote on a balanced budget amendment after October 1, but before the end of the year.
In February 2012, the president can request another debt limit increase of $1.5 trillion, if either a newly created Joint Committee authorizes spending cuts greater than the hike, or a budget amendment has been passed by the states.
(For a more detailed summary, visit Reuters)
In addition to Boehner's approval, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both lent their support to the plan as well. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi was not as enthusiastic, explaining she would review the plan with her caucus today.
Many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle shared Pelosi's lack of enthusiasm. Some Democrats believe it does not ask enough of the rich, while many Republicans believe the budget cuts are not sweeping enough.
Senator Bernie Sanders explained, "I cannot support legislation like the Reid proposal which balances the budget on the backs of struggling Americans while not requiring one penny of sacrifice from the wealthiest people in our country. That is not only grotesquely immoral, it is bad economic policy." Rep. Raul Grijalva echoed Sanders, saying, "This deal does not even attempt to strike a balance between more cuts for the working people of American and a fairer contribution from millionaires and corporations."
Tea Party Republicans, including Senators Rand Paul and Mike Lee, have been voicing their concerns for a plan without a balanced budget amendment all week. Senator Ron Johnson explained, "It may be a step in the right direction but it is not fixing the problem. And you know, again it’s not about the August 2 deadline. It’s about the amount of spending and debt that this country is incurring...We have way too much debt for the size of our economy." Rep. Allen West took a different approach, tweeting last night, "Before conservatives go criticising [sic] this agreement consider what would have happened if Pelosi, Reid and Obama were still in control."
What do you think of the plan? Do you think it will pass through Congress?
