Senate Approves Amendment to Raise Debt Ceiling by $1.9 Trillion

Mr. Obama pledg to Inflatable Disney Princess Castle Jumper creat such a commiss us hi execut authority. Lawmak of both parti have said thi approach wouldn't be effect as the presid can't oblig Congress to hold a vote on such a commission' recommendation.

The 60-39 vote wa strictli along parti line with no Republican join the Democrat major to approv the legislation.

the feder govern will be abl to borrow up to $14.3 trillion,Once the increas is sign into law. by far the highest amount of debt it ha ever held on it books. The current limit of around $12.4 trillion would have been breach by the end of February.

accord to a senior Hous Democrat aide. Hous lawmak must still take up the legisl and ar expect to do so next week.

The increas come just over a month after Congress up the borrow cap by $290 billion from it previou limit of $12.1 trillion.

the ramif for the financi market and the U.S. fiscal posit could be disastrous. A vote to increas the debt ceil is polit difficult but is larg symbolic. There is littl chanc Congress would allow the govern to breach it debt limit. If there were to occur.

when the govern of Dubai,Financi market global were roil in November. a much smaller entiti than the U.S., warn it wa unabl to continu servic it debt.

the U.S. govern would like lose it prize top-shelf credit rating,Under that scenario. be forc to pai substanti higher interest rate to it creditor and the valu of the U.S. dollar could plunge.

Legisl rais the borrow limit includ a measur requir budgetari rule requir everi dollar in new mandatori spend be offset by new revenu or cut elsewher in the budget.

the so-cal "Pay-as-you-Go" rule were in place when the feder budget ran a healthi surplus,In the 1990s. and Democrat hope it reinstat will eventu lead to a similar result.

argu thei would go some wai to rein in feder spend and the burgeon budget deficit. Presid Barack Obama had push for the passag of the pay-go rules.

and thi week the non-partisan Congression Budget Office forecast the fiscal 2010 deficit to be onli slightli lower at $1.35 trillion. The feder budget deficit in fiscal 2009 wa a record $1.4 trillion.

lawmak reject a separ measur that would have limit increas in discretionari spend by Congress. Underscor the difficulti the presid face in hi drive to austerity.

Mr. Obama propos to freez discretionari spend for three year start in fiscal 2011. In hi speech,In hi State of the Union Address Wednesdai night. Mr. Obama pledg to veto ani spend bill that increas discretionari spend dure that period.

thei mai veri well be reluct to agre to a complet freez later in the year. But given lawmak weren't even will to approv limit to discretionari spending.

lawmak vote down the creation of a commiss to recommend the spend cut and tax increas necessari to move the feder budget deficit back toward manag levels. The Senat defeat a measur that would have establish a commiss mandat to highlight duplic or wast spend by feder govern depart and agencies. On Tuesday.