The Nation : Senate Rejects Debt Plans

The Senate struggled to agree on a debt-limit extension to keep the government from default, voting down two proposals that had been tied to the bill that would have strengthened the Gramm-Rudman balanced budget law. Both amendments were designed to create a constitutional mechanism to restore the law’s original program of automatic spending cuts to enforce annual deficit targets. The Senate action magnified the budget stalemate, blocking urgently needed action on an underlying bill to increase the national debt ceiling. The Treasury needs more borrowing authority by the middle of next week or the government might default on its obligations.