on Thursday as the White House and top lawmakers scrambled to sort through competing options and stave off a devastating U.S. default.
With the clock ticking toward an August 2 deadline to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, President Barack Obama and the senior Republican in Congress, House Speaker John Boehner, worked toward a budget plan that would include deep spending cuts but might leave tax reform for later, congressional aides said.
The main obstacle remained the issue of tax increases that Obama's Democrats want and Republicans vehemently oppose. There were conflicting accounts of how and when higher revenue might kick in, and the White House vowed there would be no deal without this.
The main focus was on prospects for what congressional sources said was shaping up as $3 trillion in deficit cuts over 10 years, a figure that many in Washington hope would help salvage America's triple-A credit rating. Rating agencies have called for a comprehensive deficit-cutting deal.
With the clock ticking toward an August 2 deadline to raise the U.S. debt ceiling, President Barack Obama and the senior Republican in Congress, House Speaker John Boehner, worked toward a budget plan that would include deep spending cuts but might leave tax reform for later, congressional aides said.
The main obstacle remained the issue of tax increases that Obama's Democrats want and Republicans vehemently oppose. There were conflicting accounts of how and when higher revenue might kick in, and the White House vowed there would be no deal without this.
The main focus was on prospects for what congressional sources said was shaping up as $3 trillion in deficit cuts over 10 years, a figure that many in Washington hope would help salvage America's triple-A credit rating. Rating agencies have called for a comprehensive deficit-cutting deal.
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