Inside Politics: Democrats want Sandy bill done by Christmas

Democrats are trying to push a $60.4 billion emergency spending package for Superstorm Sandy victims through Congress by Christmas. Republicans are responding: Not so fast.

The Senate opened debate on the aid measure Monday, seven weeks after the storm swept up the East Coast, causing extensive damage in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Several Republicans say they’re sympathetic to Sandy victims, but they favor a smaller aid package for the moment and suggest cutting other federal programs to pay for parts of it. They say some measures in the bill — including money for salmon fisheries in Alaska, new government care and an Amtrak expansion project — smack more of congressional pork than disaster aid.

TREASURY

Overseas investors appear confident in U.S. debt

Foreign ownership of U.S. Treasury securities rose to a record level in October, a sign that overseas investors remain confident in U.S. debt despite a potential budget crisis.

Total foreign holdings of U.S. Treasurys rose to $5.48 trillion in October, the Treasury Department said Monday. That was up 0.1 percent from September. Still, the increase of $6 billion was the weakest since total holdings fell in December 2011.

China, the largest holder of U.S. government debt, increased its holdings slightly to $1.16 trillion. Japan, the second-largest holder, boosted its holdings by a smaller amount to $1.13 trillion. Brazil, the country with the third-largest holdings, increased its total to $255.2 billion.

The new figures show that investors are still seeking the perceived safety of U.S. Treasurys, even as lawmakers and President Obama remain at odds over whether to raise the U.S. borrowing limit as part of a broader budget deal.

But economists also said the slowdown in purchases of Treasury securities suggests that investors are more willing to buy other debt, including from European governments. That might indicate that fears of a financial catastrophe in Europe are easing.

The federal government is expected to hit its borrowing limit of $16.39 trillion by the end of December. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has said he would resort to the same financial maneuvers he used in the last debt standoff in 2011 to keep the government from defaulting on its debt.

But these operations will buy only a few weeks’ time, until late February or early March. By then, the government will face the prospect of a first-ever debt default if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling.

MONTANA

Court rejects gay couple request as ‘overly broad’

HELENA — The Montana Supreme Court on Monday rejected an “overly broad” request that gay couples be guaranteed the same benefits as married couples.

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