House passes GOP debt bill over objections of Obama, Democrats; Senate votes to table

By Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane,
WashPost
Published: July 29 | Updated: Saturday, July 30, 7:35 PM

House GOP leaders won narrow approval of a plan to raise the federal debt limit Friday after revising the measure to appeal to rebellious conservatives, but it was quickly shot down in the Senate, where Democrats began pushing their own plan to avert a national default.

Heading into the final weekend before the Treasury expects to begin running short of cash to pay the nation’s bills, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) introduced a new version of his plan to grant the government additional borrowing authority into 2013, setting up a crucial vote in the Senate shortly after midnight Saturday.

Democrats conceded that they still lack the votes to repel a GOP filibuster. Reid beseeched his Republican counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), to join him in reworking the measure so the Senate could pass it and send it back to the House before slumping financial markets open Monday morning.

But in a phone call Friday evening, McConnell told Reid he wanted the White House at the table and expressed frustration that President Obama had rejected an emerging compromise between the two Senate leaders last weekend. Aides said McConnell expected to speak with administration officials Friday night and tamped down talk of an impasse. But Senate Democratic leaders reacted with outrage, accusing McConnell of blocking a deal.

(More here.)