Senate Blocks Sen. Reid Debt Ceiling Proposal - Negotiations continue...

story by C-Span

By a count of 50 - 49, the Senate voted to not proceed on Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) debt ceiling proposal. The vote required 60 "ayes" to clear the filibuster hurdle.

Following the vote, the Senate went into recess, subject to recall by the Majority Leader.

At the opening of this afternoon's special Senate session, Leader Reid said he was "cautiously optimistic" that a debt ceiling deal could be reached soon.

He was referring to a plan proposed by Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that would cut spending by $3 trillion over the next decade and raise the debt ceiling through 2012 in a two-stage process.

Negotiations between the White House and the Senate leadership continue on the McConnell plan.

Both the House and Senate were in session Saturday to debate the Reid plan, which would last through 2012 and cut about $2.4 trillion in federal spending.

The House considered it under a special rule where a 2/3 majority was required for passage, and it failed to meet that requirement, by a count of 246-173.
Off the floor, negotiations continued as leaders tried to come up with a bill that would satisfy members across the political spectrum. Sen. Reid said late in the day yesterday on the Senate floor that talks with the White House were "going on" but that "there are many elements to be finalized…there is still a distance to go."

Late Friday, the U.S. House passed its version of a bill to raise the debt ceiling, crafted by Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). The final vote was 218 to 210. 22 Republicans voted against it, and no Democrats voted in favor of the plan. Republicans who voted against the bill were: (Freshman members are in bold): Amash (MI), Bachmann (MN), Broun (GA), Chaffetz (UT), Cravaack (MN), DesJarlais (TN), Duncan (SC), Graves (GA), Gowdy (SC), Huelskamp (KS), Johnson (IL), Jordan (OH), King (IA), Latham (IA), Connie Mack (FL), McClintock (CA), Mulvaney (SC), Ron Paul (TX), Tim Scott (SC), Southerland (FL), Walsh (IL), Wilson (SC).

Within minutes of that vote, Sen. Reid brought the House bill up on the Senate floor, and moved to table, or discard, the plan. The vote was 59-41 to table, with 6 Republicans joining 51 Democrats and 2 Independents in voting against the Boehner proposal. Republicans voting to table were: DeMint (SC), Graham (SC), Hatch (UT), Lee (UT), Paul (KY), and Vitter (LA).

No agreement between Republicans and Democrats and the House and Senate means the path forward is still uncertain with the August 2nd deadline imposed by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner fast approaching.

House Democrats encouraged the President to invoke the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution to unilaterally lift the debt ceiling without Congressional authorization. The White House continues to reject that option.