Republican bill dies in Senate, could trigger compromise

Democratic leaders in the US Senate said that the top Republican in the chamber was still refusing to negotiate a debt-ceiling increase with them after they defeated a bill backed by Republicans.Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told Senate Democratic leaders he would not work on a compromise after the Senate defeated a bill that had passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, Democratic Senator Charles Schumer said at a news conference.US Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid revised his debt-limit bill on Friday to incorporate elements of a backup plan first proposed by McConnell.The proposal I put forward is a compromise, we changed it even more today. We would have changed it more but as I indicated on the floor we had no one to negotiate with, Reid said.Reids plan originally envisioned raising the U.S. debt limit in one step by $2.7 trillion, enough to cover the nations borrowing needs through the November 2012 elections.The new version would essentially allow President Barack Obama to raise the debt ceiling in three steps. Through a complex legislative process, Congress could approve these debt-ceiling hikes with only a one-third vote in each chamber.