WASHINGTON - Here is the situation on Tuesday as lawmakers try to close in on a deal for Congress to raise the US government's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit by an August 2 deadline and avoid a debt default:

* Competing plans to raise the debt ceiling from the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-controlled House of Representatives have a lot of similarities, White House senior adviser David Plouffe says.

* The House postpones an expected Wednesday vote on the plan by Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, until at least Thursday after non-partisan budget experts say it would not deliver the spending cuts it claimed.

* President Barack Obama's chief of staff, Bill Daley, says: "There are lots of plans out there but I'm confident that the default that some people fear will not occur."

* Prioritizing US debt payments to avoid a default would be "deeply disruptive" to the economy, Standard & Poor's global head of sovereign ratings says.

* The White House says it is continuing to talk behind the scenes with members of Congress to break the impasse.

* A Reuters poll shows 30 of 53 economists surveyed think at least one of the major credit agencies will strip the United States of its top-notch credit rating. Most also say wrangling over debt has already damaged the economy.

* A Reuters/Ipsos poll finds 56 percent of Americans want a combination of government spending cuts and tax increases in a deal to bring down the US budget deficit and permit a vote to raise the debt ceiling -- the approach favored by Obama and his fellow Democrats.

* Obama will not use a clause in the US Constitution to bypass Congress and raise the debt limit on his own, the White House says.

* Republican Representative Jim Jordan, who is aligned with the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement, opposes the Boehner plan. Steny Hoyer, the Democrats' top vote counter in the House, says "a few" Democrats may vote for it.

* The US dollar falls broadly and gold hovers near a record high above $1,619 an ounce as investors seek safety. The debt gridlock also hits US stocks.

* International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde urges the United States to quickly resolve the stalemate, warning that failure to reach agreement would have serious consequences for the world economy.

* United Parcel Service Inc, the world's largest package delivery company, gives a cautious economic outlook and cites stalled US debt talks, sending its shares lower.

* Americans answer Obama's request to make their voices heard on the debt crisis, crashing websites with e-mails and flooding the telephone lines of lawmakers in Washington with thousands of calls.