WASHINGTON (AP) — Budget analysts said Wednesday that a Senate Democratic plan to reduce the deficit and increase the nation's borrowing authority would save $2.2 trillion over a decade, more than a rival House Republican proposal but less than promised. With both bills stuck in neutral, Congress, financial markets and the public remained on edge days before the deadline for heading off a potentially calamitous default.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the plan by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would result in savings of just over $2 trillion, some $500 billion less than Reid had promised. The Senate bill, however, would save more than a House Republican proposal by Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Nonpartisan congressional scorekeepers said his proposal would cut spending less than advertised, about $850 billion over 10 years, not the $1.2 trillion originally promised. The estimate, coupled with growing opposition from rank-and-file GOP conservatives, forced Boehner to postpone a scheduled vote on the bill to Thursday.
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