US congressional leaders rushed to line up Republican and Democratic votes on Monday for a White House-backed deal to raise the US borrowing limit and avert an unprecedented debt default.
With scars still fresh from the months-long brawl over increasing the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, a new fight was shaping over the incendiary topic of taxes.
Global markets looked relieved that the US appeared to be dodging default, but fears that the country might still lose its triple-A credit rating even with a debt deal contributed to a fizzle in a brief stocks rally.
Votes were expected later Monday in the House of Representatives and the Senate on a plan to cut at least $2.4 trillion over 10 years and raise the US borrowing limit through 2013.
The Congressional Budget Office said the deal would reduce budget deficits by at least $2.1 trillion over 10 years.
If Congress fails to clear the deal by Tuesday, the US will no longer be able to borrow money to pay its bills. The Senate is expected to pass the deal, but it could face a harder time in the House, where both conservatives and liberals are unhappy with it.