House Republicans on Tuesday introduced new legislation that would guarantee Social Security payments in the event that the federal government bumps up against the debt ceiling.

Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.) and six other Republicans introduced the Social Security Check Guarantee Act, H.R. 2581. The bill says simply that nothing in U.S. law shall preclude the timely payment of Social Security benefits from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund or the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund.

The House meets at 10 a.m. for speeches, then at noon to consider the Republican "cut, cap and balance" bill that cuts spending in 2012, caps the size of the federal government over the next decade and prohibits more federal borrowing until a balanced-budget amendment is sent to the states.

Members will debate the rule for the bill for one hour. After approving the rule, members are scheduled for four more hours of debate before voting on the bill, H.R. 2560.

The House on Monday evening easily approved H.R. 33, the Church Plan Investment Clarification Act, by a 310-1 vote.

The only "no" vote came from Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), who said afterwards that it creates a special exemption for church retirement accounts but not others. "I support deregulation, but I cannot support favoring one interest over another w/o objective criteria for doing so," he said on his Facebook page.

J. Paul Oetken on Monday became the first openly gay man confirmed to the federal bench. 

The Senate approved his nomination 80 to 13.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who recommended Oetken to President Obama for the nomination to the District Court for the Southern District of New York, offered a ringing endorsement from the Senate floor prior to the roll-call vote. 

The House will reconvene at 6:30 p.m. to vote on and pass H.R. 33, the Church Plan Investment Clarification Act.

Members held a brief debate on this non-controversial bill at 5 p.m. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) said the bill is needed as a technical fix to current law, which does not allow church pension plans to invest in collective trusts.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday described the prospect of Congress allowing the U.S. to default on its financial obligations as both "grim" and "scary." 

"Even those who believe government should be small enough to drown in a bathtub have to admit that a total shutdown of even the most basic and essential functions of government is scary," said Reid. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that if Democrats don't join the GOP in supporting a balanced-budget amendment, then they've "given up" on controlling government spending.

“I heard one of my Democratic colleagues say yesterday that the votes simply don’t exist to pass any bill in the Senate that balances the budget,” McConnell said on the Senate floor.

 “My question is, why in the world not?” he asked.

Several aggravated House Republicans took to the House floor Monday at 2 p.m. to criticize the Obama administration's threat to veto the "cut, cap and balance" bill that the House is expected to approve on Tuesday.

An angry Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) read several portions of the White House veto threat on the floor, including a sentence that called the House Republican plan an "empty political statement" and called for "bipartisan common ground."

"All we ask for is we balance our budget," Chaffetz said. "For the president to suggest that balancing our budget is not common ground does provide clarity.

Reid's announcement comes as time dwindles down ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline.