Washington – The U.S. House on Tuesday night passed the “cut, cap and balance” deficit reduction plan backed by tea party conservatives but dismissed by President Barack Obama, who offered strong praise for another proposal put together by a bipartisan group of senators, CNN reports. The so-called Gang of Six plan – drafted by three Democratic and three Republican senators – presents a possible compromise to Obama and congressional leaders as they approach a deadline for a deal on cutting federal deficits in order to gain Republican support for raising the federal debt ceiling to avoid an unprecedented default.
It would cut the nation’s debt by about $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years – similar to the president’s call for roughly $4 trillion in savings.
Obama called the plan by the Gang of Six senators “broadly consistent” with his own approach to the current debt ceiling crisis because it mixes tax changes, entitlement reforms and spending reductions.
