The fervent debate over the U.S. government's national debt did not come to a close on August 1, but the day's passage of a bill in the House increasing the debt ceiling is being seen by some as an indicator of compromise. The vote passed with 269 voting for and 161 against, according to CBS News.
The bill comes with a number of caveats. Chief among them is a more than sizable cut in the government's overall spending for the next decade – a total of $1 trillion, according to the news source.
Another announcement attached to the ceiling-increase House bill was the formal creation of an equally bi-partisan Congressional committee, including members of the House and Senate in equal numbers, to recommend further cuts aimed at reducing the deficit. The news source reports that programs and budgets affected by these cuts may include defense and social welfare programs.
The Senate has yet to vote on the bill. It is expected that the vote will occur August 2, pass the Senate's muster and move up to the desk of President Barack Obama shortly after.
According to Associated Press (AP), an earlier House bill that planned to cut federal spending by $6 trillion was met with disapproval by both the Senate and President Obama, the latter immediately pledging to veto any such legislation if it were to reach him.