Free Republic

********************************************** (AP)  WASHINGTON — The next step in the weeks-long saga over how to increase the government's borrowing cap is to let House tea party forces try it their way. A Republican "cut, cap and balance" plan set for a House vote Tuesday would condition a $2.4 trillion increase in the so-called debt limit on an immediate $100 billion-plus cut from next year's budget and adoption by Congress of a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget. "Let's let the American people decide," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on "Fox News Sunday." "Do they want something common sense as cutting...

With White House negotiations stalled and an Aug. 2 deadline looming, House Republicans will bring an alternative solution to rein in spending while raising the U.S.’s borrowing authority to the floor next week in a bid to break the debt-ceiling deadlock that threatens the U.S.’s credit and could spark a spreading fiscal calamity. -snip- The new plan isn’t new, exactly. Known as Cut, Cap and Balance, the three-pronged proposal would cut some $2.4 trillion from the federal budget, fulfilling Republican promises not to vote to raise the debt limit through 2012 unless they secure commensurate spending cuts. It would establish...