July 29 | Sat Jul 30, 2011 12:32am EDT
(Reuters) – Congress has just days to raise the U.S. debt ceiling before the government starts running out of money to pay all its bills, but lawmakers spent Friday engaged in parliamentary maneuvers rather than constructive negotiations.
Congress will need to have a deal in place by Monday morning to avoid further disruption to financial markets.
Here is a rundown of how a deal could work. As with everything in Congress, this scenario could change dramatically.
* The Senate is scheduled to hold a procedural vote at 1 a.m. EDT Sunday (0500 GMT) on a revised debt-ceiling proposal offered by Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid.
* Sixty votes would be needed to clear that hurdle — which means at least seven Republican votes are needed if all 53 Democrats back it.
* If that vote succeeds, a vote on final passage would come around 7:30 a.m. EDT (1130 GMT) on Monday, unless all 100 senators agree to vote before then.
* The House is due to vote on the measure as well — presumably to kill it. That vote is expected on Saturday between 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) and 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT). If the House kills the bill before the Senate acts, will the Senate still go ahead with its vote?
* Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell wants to work out a deal, but not with Reid. Republican aides say he wants the White House involved to assure that Democrats will be on board with any final product.
* McConnell shares a rapport with Vice President Joe Biden, and the two were central players in last year’s tax-cut deal. Biden could be a key player over the weekend.
* Senate Democrats don’t want a vote any later than Monday morning. Presumably any deal that gets worked out will ensure that the Senate can waive its arcane procedural rules to ensure quick action. (Reporting byAndy Sullivan; editing by Eric Beech)
Jacqueline Tongko 