Tea Party-backed lawmakers stood behind House Speaker John Boehner's debt plan ahead of a big vote Thursday, although they said it was not perfect. In two press conferences, GOP freshmen and later Boehner and other Republicans touted their willingness to compromise and also pressured the Senate pass the measure and solve the debt ceiling crisis. "We're not radicals, we're not extremists," said Rep. Tom Reed (NY). The bill, which the freshmen said "had Democratic ideas," would cut $917 billion over 10 years and stave off default for six months until the borrowing limit would need to be extended again. But Senate Democrats warned that even if the bill passed the House, they would kill it. President Obama backs Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's deficit-cutting bill, which would raise the debt limit high enough so the issue doesn't crop up again until after next year's election. The stalemate continues, with only five days to the Aug. 2 default deadline.
