Last Night's Budget Talks Got Us Nowhere

New huddle, press conference planned today
By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 11, 2011 2:39 AM CDT
Updated Jul 11, 2011 7:52 AM CDT
Budget Talks Deadlocked, Time Running Out
House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama meet with congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House yesterday to discuss the crushing debt.   (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

With just three weeks to go until the US defaults on its debt, White House and congressional officials are planning to resume talks today after a disappointing session yesterday, reports the Washington Post. Last night's 75-minute talks went nowhere, with both sides digging in to their positions and adjourning without agreement. “If not now, when?” was President Obama's theme in last night's negotiations. Obama is scheduled to hold a press conference before today's negotiations begin.

After John Boehner announced that a larger deal was dead Saturday, Republicans concentrated on a "contingency plan" to reach a temporary deal on the debt ceiling—but the White House continued to work for a large, long-term solution. “The president pushed to do something real and not just kick the can down the road,” according to a senior administration official. “He said he was ready, willing, and able to make the hard choices and hoped they would join him.” (More debt ceiling stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X