The Associated Press reported that the President and Congress agreed to slice at least $2.4 trillion from federal spending over a decade, or $240 billion a year, and raise the debt limit by more that $1 trillion to $2.4 trillion, depending on which version of the bill is read, for the next year, a key objective for Obama.
Speaker Boehner claims that the bill provides for a vote for a Balanced Budget Amendment by the House and Senate after October 1, 2011. Boehner also claims that
$900 billion is saved by placing caps on spending.
While the bill advances the cause of the balanced budget amendment, it fails to balance the current budget and only reduces the rate of growth of the deficit and debt.
Votes on the bill are scheduled in both houses of Congress Monday. The AP says Senate approval seems virtually certain; House approval could prove more difficult.