RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
On Capitol Hill, there is little sign that the supercommittee responsible for dramatically reducing the deficit will reach a deal by its deadline. That deadline is just one week and one day away. The 12 members of the bipartisan committee need to agree on a 10-year plan that cuts deficits by more than a trillion dollars. The supercommittee was created in a deal that upped the debt ceiling last summer. That deal also calls for both chambers of Congress to vote by the end of this year on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, and the House takes that up this week. NPR's David Welna has more.
DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: Congress has a long history of getting things done only at the last moment possible. Still, the task facing the 12 members of the debt reduction supercommittee - finding a combination of spending cuts and increased revenues that can also pass Congress - is unusually daunting. Little progress has been reported. Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor says he and his fellow Republicans will hold a vote this week on a scaled back proposal for a balanced budget amendment, or BBA.
REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CANTOR: I will be voting for it because I do think ultimately the biggest check we can put on the government's unbridled spending is a forced balanced budget amendment like most states have.
WELNA: The House BBA bill no longer requires a two-thirds super-majority to raise taxes. Still, it's unlikely the measure will win two-thirds approval needed in the House, and a tougher version in the Senate stands even less of a chance. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
