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| This is not the DEAL the White House wanted |
July 31, 2011
By Williams Ekanem, (MACTV News)
President Barack Obama announced on Sunday night that Democrats and Republicans leaders have reached an agreement to reduce the U.S. deficit and avoid default.
Obama said the agreement will cut about $1 trillion over 10 years.
The deal according to President Obama has made the US avoid default on raising the debt ceiling which would have been the first time ever in the history of the country.
Although the President said it wasn't the deal he "would have preferred," the President nonetheless threw his support behind the plan, which will now presumably come up for a vote in the House and Senate this week.
The agreement however remains to be approved by Congress on Sunday.
According to the President both parties have to make some adjustment for the deal to come through.
Describing the process as messy and far too long, he however thank members of congress for compromising and also Americans that called in to persuade their lawmakers to act.
Spirited efforts continued on Sunday afternoon to arrive at a compromise on raising the debt ceiling, Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid said he was "cautiously optimistic" that a debt ceiling deal could be reached soon.
Reports throughout the day indicated the Majority Leader would support a measure that would cut federal spending by $3 trillion while raising the debt ceiling until 2013.
The plan also calls for a special joint committee that would recommend further cuts and changes to Medicare and Social Security- that would have to be voted on by the House and Senate this fall.
With the deadline to raise the nation's $14.29 trillion debt ceiling and avoid default fast approaching, Washington lawmakers appeared close to a compromise deal Sunday evening after a last-minute round of negotiations between the White House and Republican leaders.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said she would have to present any deal to the Democratic rank and file members of the House before she'd support it.
As reports swirled that a deal was at hand, Democratic leaders from both chambers huddled in the office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) emerged from the two-hour meeting saying that Democrats "hope" for a Senate vote on the compromise Sunday night.
"Senator Reid has signed off on the debt-ceiling agreement pending caucus approval," Reid's spokesman announced in a statement following the meeting.
A Republican leadership source, however, told the media that the deal is not yet final. "There are no votes on the debt limit tonight," the source told the media.
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