WASHINGTON – One week before the United States government could default and enter uncharted economic territory, Democrats and Republicans remain at a stalemate on how to reach a debt ceiling deal, CNN reports.
A vote on a Republican plan originally expected for Wednesday was postponed Tuesday after the Congressional Budget Office said it failed to reduce spending and deficits as much as advertised. The proposal was unveiled Monday by House Speaker John Boehner. A spokesman for the Ohio Republican said aides are looking at rewriting the plan. A congressional source told CNN on condition of not being identified that the vote was being postponed until Thursday at the earliest.
While political leaders continued sniping at each other’s latest proposals, conservative Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell called for renewed negotiations with President Barack Obama and indicated his party must be willing to move away from some of its demands.
“We are going to have to get back together and get a solution here,” McConnell said of formal talks with the White House and congressional Democrats. “We cannot get a perfect solution, from my point of view, controlling only the House of Representatives. So I am prepared to accept something less than perfect because perfect is not achievable.”
In addition, Boehner’s plan appeared in danger of failing to get passed by the GOP-controlled House, which would weaken the party’s negotiating leverage on a final deal. Conservatives – including some House and Senate Republicans and the Club for Growth, an anti-tax group – have criticized the Boehner plan for not doing enough to tackle the nation’s mounting deficits and debt.
