Two-step House plan: The House GOP bill put forward by Speaker John Boehner would provide for an immediate $1 trillion increase in the government's $14.3 trillion debt limit in exchange for $1.2 trillion in cuts in spending. The measure envisions Congress approving a second round of spending cuts of $1.8 trillion or more in 2012, passage of which would trigger an additional $1.6 trillion in increased borrowing authority.
One-step Senate plan: The Democratic measure would cut $2.7 trillion in spending and raise the debt limit by $2.4 trillion in one step -- enough borrowing authority to last through the 2012 elections. The cuts include $1.2 trillion from hundreds of government programs and $1 trillion in savings assumed to derive from the end of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The legislation also assumes creation of a special joint congressional committee to recommend additional savings with a guaranteed vote by Congress by the end of 2011.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
