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Associated PressWASHINGTON – Democratic infighting over demands by moderates to turn over some of Congress' decision-making power on taxes and spending programs to a special deficit commission is complicating prospects for a must-pass borrowing bill headed for the Senate floor.
The legislative minuet is blending brinksmanship with hard bargaining as the White House summoned top House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for a meeting on Tuesday to try to figure out how to pass legislation to permit the federal government to issue the bonds required to fund government programs and prevent a first-ever default on obligations.
Moving to increase the so-called debt limit is a major source of anxiety for Democrats, and moderates in both House and Senate have responded with demands for action on the deficit as a condition of voting for it. The debt limit legislation — likely to exceed $1 trillion — could come to the floor on as early as Wednesday.
Senators such as Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., want to create a bipartisan deficit commission whose findings would be awarded a mandatory up-or-down vote after this year's election. They're using their votes to increase the debt limit as leverage to win a separate vote on the plan.
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