By Rachelle Younglai and Kim Dixon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congressional leaders scrambled for enough support from skeptical lawmakers on Monday to push through an 11th-hour deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avert a potentially devastating debt default.

Just one day before the deadline to lift the debt ceiling, the Democratic-led Senate appeared on track to pass the $2.1 trillion deficit-cutting plan either later on Monday or on Tuesday. But uncertainty over its fate in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives rattled financial markets worldwide.

Leaders of both parties worked furiously to sell their rank-and-file on a deal reached with President Barack Obama in a bid to end an acrimonious impasse that has undermined Americans faith in their political institutions and hurt America’s image abroad.

Vice President Joe Biden met for 2-1/2 hours with House Democrats, many of whom are unhappy about the steep spending cuts with no tax increases in the deal he helped broker.

“I am confident that this will pass,” he told reporters afterward.

Global markets at first showed signs of relief that the United States appeared to be dodging default, but fears that the country might still lose its triple-A credit rating even with a debt deal contributed to a fizzle in a brief stocks rally. For more visit: Yahoo finance

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