Two deals to “cut spending” and raise the debt ceiling will emerge this evening on Capitol Hill.

One deal comes from Speaker Boehner, one from Senate Majority Leader Reid.

Harry Reid’s proposal is the more straight forward of the two:

-  The proposal promises $2.7 trillion in “cuts” over the next ten years, with NO increases in taxes.

– $1 trillion in “savings” comes from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — (The article linked to above goes into some of the “controversy” surrounding this figure)

-  The debt ceiling would be raised by an amount “less” than the cuts, est. around $2.4 trillion, to theoretically keep from reaching the debt ceiling again until 2013.

Reid blames the “crisis” on “Tea Party extremism,” stating:

“The time for ideological extremism should end. Now is the time for cooperation and consensus building and that’s what legislation is all about — the art of compromise — and they’ve got to break away from the extremists that seem to be running the Republican Party in Washington.”

John Boehner’s proposal is a two-step process:

-  Step 1: “Cut” $1.2 trillion over the next ten years, increase the debt ceiling by $1 trillion (est. to last only until February 2012).

– The plan would call for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution to be voted on after October 1, but before the end of the year.

-  Step 2: Create a “12-member Joint Congressional Committee” (This is something mentioned in both proposals, though specifics vary, both mentions include granting the committee a guaranteed up or down vote on their “deficit reduction proposals” in both Houses with no opportunity for amendments by your elected representatives – unless they happen to be in the “Elite 12”, of course) to recommend $1.8 trillion in additional cuts. 

If it passes, the President would be “authorized to request another increase in the debt ceiling of $1.6 trillion.”

While both sides are out in full force criticizing each other’s deal as being full of “gimmicks” and/or “smoke and mirrors,” the White House has announced President Obama will hold a national address tonight at 9PM EST to discuss the debt ceiling negotiations.

The White House has already come out with praise for Senator Reid’s plan:

“Senator Reid’s plan is a reasonable approach that should receive the support of both parties, and we hope the House Republicans will agree to this plan so that America can avoid defaulting on our obligations for the first time in our history. The ball is in their court,” said White House press secretary Jay Carney shortly after Reid’s news conference.

Stay tuned tonight for some good ol’ fashioned political theatre…