Reid: Senate Won't Debate Cut, Cap, Balance Yet

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate will not take up a backup plan to raise the debt ceiling as it will wait to see what emerges from talks between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Friday.

The plan would give President Barack Obama new powers to order an increase in the government's borrowing limit. There's an Aug. 2 deadline to act.

Some reports also said that the Senate voted to table the "cut, cap and balance" bill the House passed this week. That bill calls for strict caps on all future federal spending while making it significantly tougher to raise taxes.

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, has canceled weekend sessions that he had said earlier would be held.

His announcement seems to reflect the fading prospects for the backup plan. It would let Obama raise the borrowing cap by $2.5 trillion in over the next year unless overridden by two-thirds of Congress.

Tea party-backed lawmakers strongly oppose the idea.