Congress is "very, very close" to a debt ceiling deal, according to Senator Mitch McConnell. Negotiators are discussing final details, and the deal is not done yet, but they say its close.
Hopes emerged that lawmakers were close to a last-minute deal on Sunday that could raise the debt ceiling by up to $2.8 trillion and assure financial markets that the United States will avoid default.
Even though the congressional leaders had all the time in the world to strike a deal on the issue of debt-ceiling raise, they seem to be shamelessly waiting for an 11th hour drama. Technically speaking, Aug. 2 is the end of grace period for extraordinary measures and the U.S. borrowing limit, currently at $14.29 trillion, was reached on May 16 this year. Instead of getting things done Democrats and the Republicans seem to get a kick out of the 'blamestorming game'.
After two weeks of acrimony, Democrats and Republicans, perhaps after having stared into the abyss, returned to the bargaining table Saturday. Still, no one will believe the issue has been resolved until President Barack Obama signs a bill that raises the debt ceiling and cuts the budget deficit.
Top level negotiations will continue until Sunday afternoon at one p.m. after Senate Majority leader Harry Reid delayed a test vote on a Democratic debt ceiling increase plan.
Top congressional Republicans said on Saturday they were in serious talks with President Barack Obama to break a U.S. debt limit deadlock and were confident the risk of default by the world's largest economy could be avoided.
The White House said on Saturday it "strongly supports" a bill being considered in the House of Representatives that incorporates both Democratic and Republican ideas and would raise the debt limit to early 2013.
The debt negotiations are getting down to the wire. Republican and Democratic lawmakers are scrambling to broker a deal to raise the country's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before Tuesday, when the Treasury will no longer be able to borrow funds to meet all of its obligations. It all means the United States could face the possibility of defaulting on its debt and losing its prized triple-A credit rating.
A bitter mood prevailed on Capitol Hill as lawmakers struggled on Saturday to find a compromise measure to lift the nation's $14.3 trillion debt limit three days before the deadline to avert a ruinous default.
Led by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate Democrats Saturday worked feverishly to modify Reid's original debt plan in order to attract Senate Republicans. But a GOP Senate filibuster is expected late Saturday or Sunday, which, if it holds, would leave the U.S. without a debt ceiling increase, two days before a default.
Facing a deadline to avoid a ruinous default, congressional leaders on Saturday braced for a tense weekend of negotiations to try to reach a compromise on a measure to increase in the country's $14.3 trillion debt limit.
Senate Democrats aimed to seize the initiative in efforts to head off a ruinous debt default by pushing their deficit-cutting plan on Saturday toward a possible compromise with a divided Republican Party.
He is the author of "The buck stops here." And: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!" And: "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." Sounds like the perfect person to solve the U.S.'s seemingly intractable debt deal crisis.
A Federal Judge on Friday ordered the release of the transcripts of the 36-year-old secret testimony that former President Nixon gave to the grand jury following the infamous Watergate scandal. The transcripts will enable historians and scholars to gauge the extent of Nixon's role in the affair - a subject of popular speculation.
As Congress remains locked in a bitter stalemate, the White House is quietly working to prioritize its financial obligations in preparation for the possibility that the government will no longer borrow money to pay its bills.
With four days left before the United States hits its debt limit, Republicans pressed ahead with a deficit plan that cannot pass Congress and President Barack Obama told lawmakers to stop wasting time and find a way "out of this mess."
With four days remaining until the United States hits its debt limit, President Barack Obama on Friday told deeply divided Republicans and Democrats to stop bickering and find a way "out of this mess."
In an eleventh hour plea for political compromise, as the Aug 2. debt ceiling deadline inches closer, President Barack Obama urged Congress to avoid a government default by finding a bipartisan solution. On Friday, he said he was ready to work with top Democrats and Republicans through the weekend to reach one.
A do-nothing U.S. House and a president whose political base is starting to wonder what he stands for. Yes, the debt deal impasse is revealing a crisis of leadership in Washington. It?s as if the U.S.?s highest elected officials have forgotten what?s important. Former President Harry S. Truman always knew. And he led.
Officials with the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms did not inform the White House of a disastrous program that allowed weapons to flow to violent Mexican drug cartels.
President Barack Obama is deeply involved in trying to win a debt deal and his White House was working flat out, aides said, pushing back against any impression Congress had sidelined the administration.
Some major bond fund managers are asking their institutional clients to consider waiving strict requirements that might force mass selling of Treasury bonds if the United States loses its AAA rating.
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