The Hill News

As Congress and the White House search for a solution to the nation's debt crisis, the question of the day for Wednesday was: What's the next step?

House Republicans on Tuesday approved their “cut, cap and balance” bill. The bill passed on a party-line vote, 234-190, as nine Republicans â€" including presidential candidates Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Ron Paul (Texas) â€" and five Democrats defected.

The plan is not expected to pass in the Senate, and President Obama has threatened to veto it if it does.

The proposal introduced by the Gang of Six to cut $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years has gained some traction, but is meeting resistance from both sides.

Time is a factor for any deficit-reduction bill, and many believe that a back-up plan to raise the debt ceiling will be needed before the Aug. 2 deadline.

Democrats have called on the GOP to stop wasting time with "cut, cap and balance" and to begin work on a bipartisan plan that has a better chance of passing. Republicans are defending their bill as just such a plan.

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