Tuesday, August 2, 2011
US Senate to vote on debt deal
Just hours before the Treasury's authority to borrow funds runs out - risking a damaging US debt default - the Senate and President Barack Obama are expected to approve a deal to cut a bulging deficit and lift the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling enough to last beyond the November 2012 elections.
The bill overcame its biggest obstacle late on Monday when the Republican-led House of Representatives passed the measure despite noisy opposition from both conservative Tea Party members, who wanted more spending cuts, and liberal Democrats angered by potential hits to programs for the poor.
The vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate, due to take place at noon EDT (1600 GMT), is expected to be less dramatic. If approved, Obama would sign the bill into law shortly afterward.
That would mark the end of a fierce partisan battle that has paralyzed Washington for weeks and spooked investors already nervous about a weak US economy and Europe's sovereign debt woes.
The bill overcame its biggest obstacle late on Monday when the Republican-led House of Representatives passed the measure despite noisy opposition from both conservative Tea Party members, who wanted more spending cuts, and liberal Democrats angered by potential hits to programs for the poor.
The vote in the Democratic-controlled Senate, due to take place at noon EDT (1600 GMT), is expected to be less dramatic. If approved, Obama would sign the bill into law shortly afterward.
That would mark the end of a fierce partisan battle that has paralyzed Washington for weeks and spooked investors already nervous about a weak US economy and Europe's sovereign debt woes.
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