Debt Limit Deal

The agreement would cut at least $2.4 trillion from federal
spending over a decade but does not include tax increases
on wealthy Americans to reduce deficits, something the
president had wanted. The deal also raises the country's
debt limit by $2.1 trillion, to about $16.5 trillion, which
will allow borrowing through the end of 2012. The Treasury
Department has said that after Tuesday the U.S. government
won't have enough money to meet all of its financial
obligations if Congress doesn't raise the nation's debt
ceiling.

Under the agreement, a new joint committee of Congress would
recommend deficit reductions by the end of November. Those
would be put to a vote in Congress by year's end. The
committee's recommendations could include changes in tax laws
as a way to raise revenue.

The deal would increase the debt ceiling by $900 billion now,
in exchange for Washington-style cuts. It would also give
tremendous power to a 12-member committee that will pave the
way for tax hikes. Not only that, but if conservatives don’t
agree to the tax hikes, then a so-called trigger would
automatically cut our nation's security by $600 billion.

Note: The joint committee can only recommend - nothing is
binding. It can be ignored just like The National Commission
on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (Bowles-Simpson).