President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner faced off in back-to-back addresses to the nation Monday in prime-time, after House Republicans and Senate Democrats emerged with competing plans to address the U.S. debt ceiling.
One of the biggest obstacles remaining: the size of the debt limit increase. House Republicans want an increase of $1 trillion — enough to last about six months, with future increases tied to finding more cuts and a House and Senate vote on a balanced budget amendment.
The Senate wants $2.4 trillion, enough to get through the 2012 election.
"Based on what we've seen these past few weeks, we know what to expect six months from now," Obama said during a prime-time address to the nation, calling on Americans to urge Congress to compromise.
House Speaker John Boehner said he tried to work with Obama, but the president "would not take yes for an answer."
"The sad truth is that the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today," Boehner said.
With a House vote scheduled for Wednesday on the Boehner plan and no timetable in the slower-paced Senate, few days would be left to reconcile the two before the government faces the prospect of default.
But there is movement: Both plans take tax hikes off the table, something Democrats had insisted upon as part of a grand deficit-reduction deal. Republicans have also softened their demand to make an increase in the debt limit subject to an immediate vote on a balanced budget amendment.
Both sides have settled on an immediate vote on at least $1.2 trillion in spending cuts. They've also agreed there should be a process to propose future cuts, and give them an up-or-down vote.
The House Republican plan is a modified version of the bill passed by the House, but rejected by the Senate last week. The vote on a balanced budget amendment would be delayed, and many of the spending cuts would be up to a congressional commission.
A number of conservatives said they won't support anything short of the original House position. "Washington wants a deal. Americans want a solution," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.
The Senate plan, by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., proposes $2.7 trillion in cuts over 10 years, with no reductions in entitlement benefits like Social Security or Medicare.
Reid said it also meets two Republican demands: No tax increases and spending cuts at least as large as the debt limit increase.
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