The Tea Party deficit plan: 4 predictions

House Republicans are voting on a Tea Party–backed plan to slash spending, balance the budget, and raise the debt ceiling. What happens next?

A Tax Payer Tea Party Rally in Concord, New Hampshire in April: The House will vote this week on a Tea Party-backed plan to slash the deficit.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

With White House negotiations on hiatus, Republicans in Congress are pushing their own plan to raise the debt ceiling: "Cut, Cap, and Balance." Under the plan, which is moving directly from the conservative Republican Study Committee to the House floor, the debt ceiling could be raised only if both houses of Congress agree to $5.8 trillion in unspecified cuts over 10 years. The plan also pushes for a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution that would limit spending in a way that would make it all but impossible to raise taxes. President Obama said he will veto the bill in the unlikely event it passes the House and Senate. Where does that leave us? Here, four predictions:

1. The vote will be a fig leaf for the GOP, and "a trap" for Democrats

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