LOC19:24
16:24 GMT
WASHINGTON, July 22 (KUNA) -- US Senate lawmakers voted 51 to 46 on Friday
to reject a conservative Republican-proposed bill aimed at slashing federal
spending and raising the debt ceiling.
The "cut, cap and balance" bill passed earlier this week by the House of
Representatives as an alternative to the Obama-backed legislation to raise the
nation's debt ceiling before it defaults on its loans on August 2nd.
The vote against the measure, which would have imposed strict caps on all
future federal spending while making it significantly tougher to raise taxes,
came shortly after House Speaker John Boehner told reporters he and President
Barack Obama had failed to reach a separate agreement to resolve the debt
crisis.
But Democrats and Republicans have been deadlocked over terms of a
deficit-reduction package linked to the debt-limit increase, with Democrats
demanding some tax increases and Republicans insisting on doing it just with
spending cuts. (end)
hy.bs
KUNA 221924 Jul 11NNNN