The U.S. House of Representatives is to vote late Thursday on a plan by Republican House Speaker John Boehner to raise the debt ceiling and cut spending.

Boehner's plan calls for raising the country's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit, in exchange for billions of dollars in spending cuts.

Before the vote, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer predicted that no Democrats in the Republican-majority House will vote in favor of Boehner's bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on his Web site the Senate will defeat Boehner's plan if it passes the House.

Boehner's plan also has attracted criticism from the ultra-conservative Tea Party faction of the Republican party. Conservatives say it cuts too little spending. Democrats complain it would bring the issue back again before the next election.

Reid advocates a rival plan that he calls a compromise that incorporates many Republican goals. He says it would raise the debt limit, cut spending by $2.5 trillion, and abandon efforts to raise taxes.

White House spokesman Jay Carney says U.S. President Barack Obama is optimistic a compromise can be reached before an August 2 deadline. Carney says a successful compromise would significantly cut spending, set up a way to reform taxes and control spending on social programs, and lift the debt ceiling.

Without a deal on some kind of plan to raise the $14.3 trillion legal limit on borrowing by the deadline, the Treasury Department says it will not have enough money to pay all of its bills. That could bring a default that would likely prompt rating agencies to cut the U.S. credit rating, bringing higher interest rates and hurting economic growth.