A lot of people seem to believe the debt-ceiling/deficit-reduction fight in Congress is simply a matter of Republicans wanting to cut drastically and Democrats refusing to cut anything.

Here are some facts and figures about the Democratic Senate plan and the Republican House plan:

Savings in mandatory spending (over 10 years):

Original House plan: $20 billion

Revised (7/27) House plan: $20 billion

Senate plan: $41 billion

Interest savings from lower deficits (over 10 years):

Original House plan: $135 billion

Revised (7/27) House plan: $155 billion

Senate plan: $375 billion

TOTAL SAVINGS (over 10 years):

Original House plan: $850 billion

Revised (7/27) House plan: $915 billion

Senate plan: $2.2 trillion

House Republican leaders went back to the drawing board after the budget office found that their original plan fell short of promised savings. They amended their plan to include $65 billion in additional savings. After excluding war-related savings, the Senate plan saves roughly $900 billion. Including such savings would allow the debt ceiling to be raised past the 2012 election.