Senate defeats Reid bill

Story by The Hill
Written by Alexander Bolton and Josiah Ryan

The Senate voted largely along party lines on Sunday afternoon to block legislation crafted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that would raise the debt limit by $2.4 trillion.

Reid and other Democratic leaders worked intently to persuade centrist Republicans to support the plan but fell short.

The vote to end a GOP filibuster failed 50-49. Only Sen. Scott Brown, a centrist Republican from Massachusetts, defied the GOP leadership.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted against Reid's plan, as did Reid himself in a procedural move that allows him to bring it back to the floor.

Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) was the only senator to miss the vote.

Now Democratic Senators are waiting for Reid to call a special caucus meeting with senior administration officials to hear about the status of negotiations with GOP leaders on the latest compromise attempt. A meeting announced for 2 p.m. was postponed at the last moment.

Lawmakers say they have been told the President and GOP leaders are closing in on a deal and expect one as soon as this afternoon.

Reid told colleagues shortly after noon that he is cautiously optimistic about the negotiations.

"We are close to an agreement with Republican leaders," he said. “[A]fter speaking to Republican leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) this morning, we are cautiously optimists.”

Senators will wait for a bipartisan deal to be finalized and then will begin work on advancing it to the House.
If any senator decides to object and drag out proceedings, Congress will not make the Aug. 2 deadline set by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

A Democratic aide said that if conservatives filibuster the deal, the soonest it could pass the Senate would be a Wednesday.

A stopgap measure may be necessary to allow the government to pay its bills after Aug. 2. But such a Band-Aid would need to receive unanimous consent to pass by Tuesday.