Rival plans to cut the U.S. deficit emerge almost daily: gangs, panels and commissions all trying to reach an elusive deal. There are splits between Republicans and Democrats, and mixed messages from all sides.With pressure mounting in Washington for a budget agreement that can clear a path to raise America's debt limit, only one thing is clear: nobody yet knows how to get there, and a deal appears as far off as ever.
"Nobody can get a handle on this because there is no handle," said a veteran Republican strategist. "The overall picture really is as muddied and unclear as it looks. Anybody who says they know what's going to happen here is lying. They don't."
The United States is set to reach its $14.3 trillion debt limit on Monday, and will only be able to avoid default until Aug. 2, according to the U.S. Treasury. Efforts to forge a bipartisan deficit-reduction package as a step towards Congress raising the borrowing limit are in turmoil.
A thicket of plans to cut the deficit, which is expected to hit $1.4 trillion this year, have emerged in recent days with virtually no chance of passage in Congress. (read more)
