CALIFORNIA, MO. -- President Barack Obama's top ally in the Senate has signed on to a long-delayed agreement to raise the government's borrowing cap and cut spending -- subject to approval by his fellow Senate Democrats.
A spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid says the Nevada Democrat supports the measure. He's the first top congressional leader to announce support.
Republican Senate leaders said Sunday they were close to a deal.
The tentative agreement would guarantee enough borrowing authority to keep the government afloat into 2013.
The measure would provide an immediate hike in the debt limit, accompanied by the promise of trillions of dollars in future spending cuts.
Cuts in spending would be phased in over a decade. Social Security and Medicare benefits wouldn't be cut, and taxes would be unlikely to rise.
Locally a California woman said she's worried about the debt crisis on Capitol Hill since it directly affects her.
Kay Redding relies heavily on social security after a car accident left her unable to continue her profession as a nurse.
Redding said if the debt ceiling doesn't get approved she might not get a check and the city has told her she will have her power and water turned off if she doesn't pay her bill.
She said the city told her they aren't making exceptions for those who rely on the government
"I think it's time that the president steps up and goes ahead and utilizes the 14th amendment and raises the debt ceiling himself and then we can work on it because right now all we have is wrangling and power struggles between people who evidently don't know what it's like to be poor or live on that much of a fixed income," Redding said.
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