After another day of fruitless debt talks, stock markets reacted negatively, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling by 1.59 percent, NASDAQ by 2.65 percent, and the S&P 500 by 2.03 percent. [The Daily Beast]

Looking to put the plan up to a vote today, Speaker of the House John Boehner revised his debt-reduction plan following a Congressional Budget Office report that said it would in fact cut less than $1 trillion from the deficit. Under the new plan, cuts total $917 billion, more than the CBO’s original number of $850 billion, coupled with a debt ceiling increase of $900 billion. Additionally, the plan will cut $22 billion in 2012 rather than $1 billion under the first draft. [The Hill]

Following a disappointing scoring by the Congressional Budget Office, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he will tweak his debt-reduction plan. Though the original plan was supposed to save $2.7 trillion while raising the debt ceiling through the end of 2012, the CBO report said it would only reduce by $2.2. Reid’s stated goal was to bring both the debt ceiling increase and spending decrease to $2.4 trillion. [Roll Call]

In spite of previous reports to the contrary, John Boehner’s speakership is not in trouble, according to Republican Representative Paul Broun of Georgia. Yesterday, various Tea Party groups came out saying that they thought Boehner should (and possibly would) be replaced as Speaker of the House. [The Hill]

The president of credit rating agency Standard & Poor has said that he does not believe the United States will default on its loans while reiterating that the country’s debt problems need to be addressed to assure its fiscal security. This comes in light of recent assertions from both Moody’s Analytics and FitchRatings that a credit rating downgrade would not be catastrophic. [The Hill]

In spite of recent recalculations by groups such as Barclays Capital, the United States Department of the Treasury has said that it will indeed run out of money to pay its obligations on August 2 if the debt ceiling is not increased. Previously, it had been speculated that the Treasury might have enough money to last through August 10. [The Hill]

Debate rages on over the dueling House and Senate budget plans, though there appear to be many similarities between the Boehner and Reid plans. The National Journal lays them out. [National Journal]

Questions have been raised about the legitimacy of President Obama invoking the 14^th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling unilaterally, but that has not stopped some Congressional Democrats. House Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn, Representative Jerry Nadler of New York, and other prominent House Democrats have publicly urged the President to raise the debt ceiling himself if Congress does not do so in a timely manner. [Washington Post]

Conservative opinion-maker Grover Norquist has called on House Republicans to support the Boehner debt-reduction plan, saying it is the only plan on the table that meets American for Tax Reform’s criterion of not raising taxes while decreasing spending at a level commensurate with debt ceiling increases. [Politico]

On Wednesday, all 51 Democrats in the Senate, in addition to both independents, signed a letter saying they would not vote for the Boehner plan, taking issue with its two-tiered approach to raising the debt ceiling, which they feel would put the country at risk of defaulting again in about six months. [Roll Call]

With strong opposition to any bill that is not contingent upon a balanced budget amendment, Speaker Boehner has been having difficulty getting the House Republican Caucus in line behind his budget plan. On Wednesday, he is reported to have told his fellow Republicans “get your ass in line” for the vote that is expected on Thursday. This is a change in tone for the Speaker, who has been criticized in the past for not being forceful enough with the Tea Party contingent of his party. [Washington Post 1] [Washington Post 2]

From The Washington Post, a useful graphic comparing the Reid and Boehner plans. [Washington Post]

Time magazine’s Jay Newton-Small has compiled a list of possible results of the debt talks, with analysis on why and how each possibility might happen. [Time]

GOP presidential candidates have been less-than-welcoming to the Boehner debt-reduction plan, with only former Utah governor Jon Huntsman embracing the plan fully. Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and Texas Congressman Ron Paul have all come out against the plan. [Washington Post]

The chief economist for Moody’s Analytics has said that a credit downgrade for the United States would not be “the end of the world.” Though acknowledging that interest rates would rise, Mark Zandi said on CBS that they would not rise too drastically and a return to AAA rating could come quickly. [National Journal]

Reflecting a recent study by Barclays, the United States may be able to keep paying its bills until August 10, having taken in more and disbursed less money than initially anticipated. [NY Times]

Dissatisfied with Speaker Boehner’s leadership in the House, Tea Party Patriots founders Jenny Martin and Mark Meckler have suggested that a new speaker may be in order. Citing his lengthy Washington experience and ingrained political habits, they did not go so far as endorsing someone to replace Boehener, though Meckler mentioned Michele Bachmann as a possibility if she weren’t running for President. [National Journal]

For the second day in a row, President Obama has no scheduled meetings to discuss the debt debate with Congressional leadership. Though spokesman Jay Carney has insisted that the President has been involved with debt negotiations, it increasingly looks as though the final deal to be presented to him will be hammered out between competing bills in the House and Senate. [Washington Post]

Although tensions remain high within the House Republican Caucus, the likelihood of the Boehner debt plan passing the House seems to be climbing. This is in spite of a recent e-mail leak from inside the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of conservative Republicans, that indicated which members of that group might or might not support the plan. [National Journal]

Former Republican presidential candidate John McCain has lashed out at Tea Party-leaning Republicans who have demanded a balanced budget amendment as part of any debt ceiling agreement. Reading from a Wall Street Journal editorial that envisioned hardliner Republicans as denizens of a Tolkein-esque fantasy world, McCain blasted the notion of an amendment as unrealistic given the Democratic majority in the Senate. [The Hill]

In dueling speeches in primetime Monday, President Obama and Speaker Boehner reinforced their positions on the debt ceiling debate, with the President criticizing overly-steadfast Republicans for their intransigence (though he assigned blame to both parties) and the Speaker continuing his push against revenue increases. As part of his 15-minute speech, President Obama encouraged American to contact their representatives and urge them to compromise on a debt agreement. Shortly after the speech, several Senate and House member websites were overloaded. [Politico]

President Obama, in speaking on the debt debate, notably refrained form using the word “veto” on Monday, moving away from his earlier threats to veto any plan that did not extend the debt ceiling through the end of 2012. It has been speculated that the President may now believe that he will have to accept any deal that manages to pass both houses of Congress. [National Journal]

National Journal has compiled a list of consequences if the United States fails to raise its debt ceiling. Among them: stock markets around the world are likely to tank, government programs including food stamps and Pell Grants face spending cuts by 40 to 45 percent, economic recovery would slow drastically or reverse, Social Security checks may or may not be released, the US’s credit rating could be cut to as low as D, and businesses across the country run the risk of total failure. [National Journal]

One common factor of the plans put forth by Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Reid is the “Super Congress,” a bipartisan commission with extraordinary power to craft debt and budget legislation. In both cases, the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party finds the proposal unacceptable, while left-leaning groups such as MoveOn.org are criticizing the plan for its intent to make cuts to entitlement programs. [Huffington Post]

Additionally, the Boehner plan has received criticism from fiscal conservatives who feel that it is a step back from Cut, Cap, and Balance and the Balanced Budget Amendment. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California has declined to say whether the Boehner plan has a support of the majority of the House Republican caucus. [The Hill]

Reuters has put together a concise comparison of the Boehner and Reid debt-reduction plans. [Reuters]

One of the biggest sticking points on the debt debate is whether troop drawdowns in Iraq and Afghanistan count as part of a deficit reduction plan, with Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid arguing that it does and Republicans including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor claiming it does not, even though Representative Paul Ryan’s plan earlier this year took the same tack as Reid. [Huffington Post]

The House Rules Committee has posted the content of the Boehner deal on its website and scheduled a hearing for Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. [House Rules Committee]

In Congressional debt ceiling negotiations, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has been leading the charge to push back against the Obama Administration’s desire to hit hedge funds and private equity firms with higher taxes. [Washington Post]

According to Standard & Poor, the Boehner plan may still trigger a lowering of the US’s AAA credit rating. The agency says that such a move would likely be viewed as a “Band-Aid” that would not assure the country’s financial stability for a long enough period to avoid the downgrade. [Huffington Post]

Still confused as to what all of this means?  Want to find out how you can have your voice heard on this issue?  Click here to read The RP’s “Debt Ceiling for Dummies.”