Update at 1:25 p.m. ET: By a vote of 285-144, the House just passed a Republican plan that postpones for three months the federal government's next bump up against the so-called debt ceiling.
As we said earlier, the measure would head off another big battle over raising the government's borrowing authority — such as the one in 2011 that almost led to a government shutdown.
Leaders in the Democratic-controlled Senate have said they will support the plan. So has the White House.
Our original post — "Senate Democrats Say OK To House Republicans' Debt-Ceiling Plan":
With the House set to vote within the hour on a plan from its Republican leaders to avoid another bruising political battle by extending the federal government's borrowing authority for another three months, there's word from the Democratic-controlled Senate that its leaders are OK with the GOP initiative.
The Washington Post writes that:
"About an hour before the House's expected passage of the new plan, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and his leadership team formally said that they would accept the latest offering from House Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, in large part because Boehner had dropped his previous demands that every dollar in increased borrowing authority be met with a corresponding dollar in spending cuts."
The Post adds that if the bill passes the House, as it's expected to do, the Senate could take up the measure within the next week.
As NPR's Tamara Keith tells our Newscast Desk, the Republican bill is called the "No Budget, No Pay" act because "in addition to dealing with the debt limit, it would temporarily withhold lawmakers' pay if their chamber doesn't pass a budget by the legal deadline of April 15."
White House spokesman Jay Carney has said the president would sign the legislation if it passes both houses.
We'll update when we have news about the House vote.
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