No deal as Obama, Republicans meet over debt ceiling crisis

PanARMENIAN.Net - President Barack Obama and Republican leaders appeared ready to end a political crisis that has shuttered much of the U.S. government and pushed the country dangerously close to default after meeting at the White House on Thursday, Oct 10, Reuters reported.

No deal emerged from the 90-minute meeting, but talks continued into the night in an effort to re-open the government and extend the government's borrowing authority beyond an Oct 17 deadline. One senior Republican said an agreement could come on Friday, though hurdles remain.

"It was a very adult conversation," said Republican Representative Hal Rogers, who attended the meeting. "Both sides said they were there in good faith."

The White House said in a statement: "The president looks forward to making continued progress with members on both sides of the aisle."

According to BBC News, leading Republican Pete Sessions said the two sides were working on "defining parameters to see if we can make progress".

Earlier, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner told reporters: "What we want to do is to offer the president today the ability to move a temporary increase in the debt ceiling in agreement to go to conference on the budget for his willingness to sit down and discuss with us a way forward to reopen the government."

Republicans have offered the president a short-term debt limit increase to stave off default. In return they want Obama to further negotiate on the budget dispute that has partially closed the U.S. government.

A spokesman for Boehner told reporters the deal offered was a "clean" increase of the debt limit, with no additional policies attached.

It would only last six weeks - until November 22.

Reacting to the offer, White House press secretary Jay Carney told a daily press briefing the president was glad that "cooler heads" seemed to be prevailing in the House.

But he added: "He will not pay ransom in exchange for the Republicans in the House doing their job."

Earlier on Thursday, Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid said the Senate would "look at anything" the House sent to them, but they would not engage in negotiations with Republicans prior to reopening the government.

The crisis began in late September when Republicans tied continued government funding to measures that would undercut the Affordable Care Act, Obama's signature legislative accomplishment.

The gambit didn't work, as "Obamacare" unveiled its online health-insurance exchanges on Oct 1 even as much of the rest of the government shut down. Even so, the exchanges have been plagued by serious technical problems unrelated to the shutdown.

Democrats who control the Senate are readying a vote, possibly on Saturday, that would extend government borrowing authority for more than a year, rather than the weeks-long time frame Republicans have proposed. Still, they did not entirely dismiss the Republican plan.

"Let's see what they have offered," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said, according to Reuters.

House leaders canceled a recess planned for next week and said they would remain in Washington instead.

The impasse over the debt limit has already rattled markets and increased the interest rate for one-month U.S. Treasury bills. But U.S. stock markets rebounded on Thursday on news of a possible breakthrough.