Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took to the Senate floor Wednesday to criticize the bipartisan Gang of Six deficit-reduction proposal. 

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) suggested on Wednesday that the upper chamber will take up Republicans' “cut, cap and balance” proposal later in the day.

“We are going to move this afternoon to a debate on our budget and particularly the debt ceiling we face on Aug. 2,” said Durbin from the Senate floor. 

The House on Wednesday approved a rule allowing consideration of H.R. 2553, which would extend airport and airway taxes for about six weeks. These taxes help fund the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) but will expire on Friday unless extended.

The rule for the bill was approved in a 242-178 vote, and members were expected to debate and vote on the extension later Wednesday.

But while the bill is cast as an extension of FAA taxes through Sept. 16, it would also make key changes to the Essential Air Service program (EAS), which subsidizes air service in smaller communities. The EAS program costs about $200 million per year.

The Senate voted 69-30 on Wednesday to table an amendment offered by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that would have killed the Veterans Affairs (VA) funding bill. 

Vitter wanted to stop the bill because the Senate has yet to pass a budget for 2012. He argued it makes no sense to move spending measures without a budget framework approved by the Senate. 

"The point this amendment makes is a pretty simple but basic and important one,” said Vitter from the floor on Tuesday. “We don't have a concurrent budget resolution for fiscal year 2012. We're in the process of passing an appropriation bill with this bill, spending money without a budget, without a game plan, without a framework.”

The Senate majority leader said he's awaiting word from the Speaker about what debt-ceiling deal would pass the House.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested Wednesday that the Senate could finish work on the pending Veterans Affairs (VA) appropriations bill by the end of the day.

"We hope to complete action on that bill today," Reid said.

Towards that end, the majority leader scheduled a vote for noon on a motion to table an amendment from Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) that would kill the underlying legislation by forcing it to adhere to a concurrent budget resolution for fiscal year 2012 that does not yet exist.

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) on Wednesday called on Congress to approve legislation mandating the sale of federally owned land in order to help pay down the national debt.

"It would put the land in the hands of Americans, and Americans would own the land and they would pay taxes," Poe said on the House floor. "They could pay taxes not only to local and state governments, but when they build a business or make a business they would bring in more federal income tax.

"Real property in the hands of real Americans," he added. "What a thought."

The House in the coming weeks is expected to consider legislation that would require the Obama administration to decide by Nov. 1 whether to approve the expansion of a TransCanada oil pipeline to the U.S.

H.R. 1938, the North American-Made Energy Security Act, was just listed on the House Rules Committee website as an "active" bill, although no action is scheduled so far this week.

Very little is officially planned on the House and Senate floors today, as members continue to struggle toward a debt-ceiling agreement before Aug. 2.

The Senate appears to be the more important player right now, for three reasons. First, signs emerged on Tuesday that the Senate's Gang of Six negotiators might be closer to a combination of spending cuts and increased tax revenue that can find some support among Senate Republicans.