The lack of movement on the debt negotiations drew warnings from Obama and the business community.
The president said on "CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley" that unless the debt ceiling is raised in time, the federal government might not be able to pay Social Security and veterans' benefits.
"I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on Aug. 3 if we haven't resolved this issue," Obama said. "Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it."
That drew a strong rebuke from Hatch today.
"The president's threatening to pull Social Security checks, veterans' checks, Army personnel checks -- gimme a break," he said in the Bloomberg interview. "We've got about $2.2 trillion coming in" to the Treasury.
Business Leaders' Letter
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and other organizations yesterday released a letter to Obama and Congress urging action "to raise the debt ceiling as expeditiously as possible."
The letter, which the chamber said was signed by 470 chief executives, supports long-term efforts to reduce federal deficits while saying that failure to increase the government's borrowing authority "would create uncertainty and fear, and threaten the credit rating of the United States."
McConnell said his plan is intended to "do the responsible thing and ensure the government doesn't default on its obligations."
The proposal would let the president increase the limit in three steps unless Congress disapproves by a two-thirds majority -- a near impossibility with the Senate controlled by the Democrats -- while Obama would also be required to offer spending reductions. Those cuts would be advisory, and the debt- ceiling increase would occur regardless of whether lawmakers enact the cuts, McConnell said.
Onus On Obama
Don Stewart, a spokesman for McConnell, said the plan would let Obama raise the debt limit while putting the onus on him and congressional Democrats to cut spending.