WASHINGTON, DC - Facing a rapidly-approaching August 2nd deadline to work out a deal over the U.S. debt, the Senate took up the deficit-reduction proposal known as "cut, cap and balance" Thursday.

The bill passed earlier this week in the House with the support of South Dakota Congresswoman Kristi Noem.

 Noem thinks "cut, cap and balance" is the best way to get government spending in check, even though it faces certain defeat in the Senate.

The mostly-Republican backed bill calls for $111 billion in cuts next year, and $5.8 trillion in savings over the next decade. But it's the "balance" part of "cut, cap and balance" that critics say is a deal-breaker on cutting the deficit.

"Cut, cap and balance" would raise the nation's debt ceiling but only if it's accompanied by a balanced budget amendment. Congresswoman Kristi Noem says it's time for Congress to be as fiscally-responsible as everyone else.

"For too long, families and small businesses across America have balanced their books where Washington has not. Cut, cap & balance is a common-sense bill," Rep. Kristi Noem of South Dakota said.

But Democrats, who control the Senate, say tying a balanced budget amendment to the debt ceiling is nothing more than a gimmick.

"I'm afraid that this is mostly political theater that has been sent to us, rather than a serious response to the problem," Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota said.

No one is giving "cut, cap and balance" a chance of passing the Senate, but Noem says supporting the measure is the right thing to do.

"It's unfortunate that this entire year, the Senate hasn't done its work, the senate hasn't given us any proposals to address our problem, and our president hasn't either," Noem said.

With less than two weeks to go for Congress to break the debt deadlock, Noem says she expects a deal to be worked out ahead of the deadline.

"This isn't how the normal world works. We see problems and address them when we run businesses and families back home. So that process has been very frustrating for me. But I have a belief that people will come together, find an agreement that's best for our country," Noem said.

A different budget bill coming out of the Senate calls for nearly $4 trillion in spending cuts over the next ten years. But lawmakers behind the so-called "Gang of Six" plan say it's too complex to be put together by the August 2nd deadline, so a short-term debt deal would have to be worked out in the meantime.