Obama, lawmakers seek to salvage US debt deal

US President Barack Obama and top congressional lawmakers on Saturday attempted to salvage a deal to avoid a catastrophic debt default after a collapse in deficit talks left both sides angry and frustrated. Obama, a Democrat, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders held White House talks for 50 minutes on how the debt ceiling can be raised by August 2.
--- Treasury running out of money, AAA rating at risk
--- Default would raise interest rates, hit global growth
They entered the meeting grim-faced, and left without speaking to reporters. "They are going to have to explain to me how it is that we are going to avoid default," a visibly angry Obama said on Friday after Boehner, the top Republican in Washington, informed Obama he was breaking off talks.
A senior Senate aide, speaking before the White House meeting, said the goal will be to work out a deal this weekend and have legislation ready to introduce on Monday. With the Treasury set to run out of money to pay all of its bills on August 2, Obama feared the window may have closed for a "grand bargain" of spending cuts and tax increases in exchange for Congress raising the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.
The battle in Washington is over spending cuts and taxes. Obama says he has agreed to deep spending cuts in social programs that make his own Democrats uneasy but that Republicans must allow some taxes to rise, a prospect they have rejected. Summoned to the White House were Boehner, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House.
Boehner planned to reiterate to Obama that "we must have cuts greater than the debt limit increase," a Boehner aide said before the meeting. "We will be working throughout the weekend with leaders in the House and Senate to find a serious solution," the aide said. Financial markets are growing more edgy and US banks and businesses are making contingency plans for the possibility of a debt default that would drive up interest rates, sink the dollar and ripple through economies around the world.
Credit rating agencies want spending restraints for the United States to keep its prized AAA rating that makes US Treasuries the solid foundation for global investors and lowers borrowing costs for state governments, businesses, homeowners and consumers.
"We have now run out of time," Obama said on Friday after talks collapsed on a deficit reduction package worth more than $3 trillion over 10 years. Boehner said on Friday he was confident the debt ceiling would be raised next week. But he will have to overcome resistance from Tea Party movement conservatives in his own party and could run into problems for having signalled a willingness to give ground on revenue increases in closed-door talks at the White House.
Boehner said talks collapsed because the White House insisted on raising taxes while refusing to get serious about cutting spending and overhauling retirement and healthcare programs. Democrats say tax loopholes and Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy must end as part of a US fiscal rehabilitation.
A major barrier was how much revenue would be raised through tax reform - with Obama wanting $1.2 trillion over 10 years and Boehner putting $800 billion on the table. Before the meeting, Boehner's aide also said Obama was rejecting suggestions for a short-term debt ceiling increase because taking the issue up again before 2012 presidential and congressional elections could hurt Obama's re-election prospects.