U.S. House Passes 'Cut, Cap, and Balance' Measure

With an early August deadline for addressing the nation’s debt ceiling quickly approaching, two solutions officially are on the table with a third solution unofficially in the mix but nonetheless piquing some interest.

But first things first.

Dissatisfied with an earlier plan pitched by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the U.S. House voted 234-190 Tuesday in favor of a “cut, cap, and balance” measure, H.R. 2560, which cuts federal spending by $110 billion next year, caps future spending at 19.9 percent of the gross national product, and introduces a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget. All but nine House Republicans voted in favor of the legislation, including Don Manzullo, R-Egan.

“This legislation applies pressure at several different levels to halt the excessive spending that is bankrupting our nation,” said Manzullo in a press release. “It immediately cuts spending and caps future expenses to save taxpayers $5.8 trillion over 10 years, and it requires Congress and the president to enact a strict balanced budget amendment that requires a two-thirds vote in Congress to raise taxes.”

Even so, the bill, which five House Democrats approved and 181 opposed, stands little chance of passing the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate; President Obama also said he opposes it.

Emerging as a third solution Tuesday was the so-called “Gang of Six” plan, a $3.7 trillion deficit-reduction proposal named for the six senators responsible for crafting it. Written by Sens. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Kent Conrad, D-N.D., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Dick Durbin, D-Ill, and Mark Warner, D-Va., the “Gang of Six” plan was disclosed to a nearly 50 senators in a Tuesday morning meeting.

“I know that the leadership is looking it over and trying to get more information on the Gang of Six proposal,” Manzullo spokesman Rich Carter said in a phone interview Wednesday. “Our hope is that the Senate will pick up the ‘cut, cap and balance’ and pass it so we can move forward.”

If a solution cannot be reached by August, the nation faces the possibility of defaulting on its debt, which would have broad implications on the world and the national economy.