Debt ceiling compromise 'possible': White House

A compromise to reach an agreement over raising the US debt ceiling is both "essential and possible," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday, just days ahead of a potentially ruinous government default.
"We believe that there is a place to find compromise," said Carney, as the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-held House of Representatives struggled over rival plans that both tied spending cuts to an increase of the $14.3 trillion debt limit, but appeared unable to bridge the yawning partisan gap before an August 2 deadline.
"Time's running out. We need to come together now," said Carney. "And while at midnight on August 2, we don't all turn into pumpkins, we do as a country lose our borrowing authority for the first time in our history, and that would be a very bad thing."
"Congress needs to take action," said Carney, adding that the White House has been "intensely engaged in negotiations, in conversations, in proposals and counterproposals with Congress at a variety of different levels. Carney, however, frowned on the idea of a short-term extension of the debt ceiling beyond the few days necessary to approve a last-minute deal.
"An extension only adds to the great uncertainty that is already having an impact on markets and the economy. It only casts further doubt and the globe as well as around the country on whether or not Washington can get its act together," he said. "What's lacking isn't time... what is required now is political will, and there's time, if people are willing to find it and use it, there is time to take action."
Carney added, "We still firmly believe that a compromise is essential and possible." The US Treasury has warned the world's richest country will run out of cash to pay its bills come August 2, sending shockwaves through the fragile economy. US leaders worried that even a breakthrough deal to lift the debt limit might not spare the United States from losing its Triple-A debt rating, a downgrade that could raise interest rates across the already ailing US economy.