The Hill News

A Democratic lawmaker predicted that Congress will find itself in a stalemate on a deal to raise the debt ceiling and President Obama will have to step in and push for a clean debt-ceiling increase vote.

"I think we're gonna end up in a stalemate. I anticipate that the Boehner bill will get through the House today after he's pushed his folks kind of hard and then it'll be dead on arrival once it gets to the Senate and then I think the Senate will send something over and then I think the president will have to step in," Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said Thursday on MSNBC.  "And I think he's going to have to say basically, 'look guys, there doesn't seem to be an agreement here so basically let's sign this clean extension.'"

On Wednesday, House Democrats called on a vote for a clean debt-ceiling increase as an alternative to the competing plans by House Republicans and Senate Democrats and reduce the deficit, both of which, thusfar, seem to face significant obstacles to actually be signed into law.

Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) sponsored the clean vote bill which increases the debt limit by $2.4 trillion and does not include any of the deficit-reduction measures GOPers have been calling for in a limit increase. The bill has already won 100 cosponsors.

"We are concerned that these negotiations may not conclude by August 2," a letter by the House Democratic leadership urging for a clean debt vote says. "America is now on the doorstep of default. We cannot allow the failure of these negotiations to become America’s failure to pay its bills."

Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) released details of his revised debt-ceiling increase pro! posal which now cuts the deficit by $917 billion over the next! 10 year s and cuts $22 billion over the upcoming year.

"I'm hoping that cooler heads will come together and resolve this and I'm sure we will," Cummings said.