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WASHINGTON — Let’s make a deal — not.
President Obama did not make much of a splash yesterday when he finally dived headfirst into stalled negotiations to cut federal spending and raise the debt limit.
He met separately at the White House with Senate Democratic and Republican leaders, but both sides hardened their opposing positions on taxes and other key sticking points.
Obama and his Democratic allies are pushing for about $600 billion in new tax revenues. Republicans remain vehemently opposed.
“Let’s move past tax hikes,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said shortly before meeting with the president.
The same tax-hike impasse caused the collapse last week of budget talks on Capitol Hill led by Vice President Joe Biden.
The continued deadlock didn’t dim White House Press Secretary Jay Carney’s optimistic assessment that “a significant deal remains possible.”
He vowed Obama wouldn’t back off his demand for a “balanced” approach to deficit reduction that includes both spending cuts and tax increases.
“It’s the only way to get it done if you want to do it right,” Carney said.
McConnell didn’t comment following the meeting. But his spokesman promised that the two leaders “will continue to talk.”
If they can’t strike a bargain to increase the $14.3 trillion debt limit by Aug. 2, the United States will run out of borrowed money and will face a catastrophic credit meltdown.
It could result in the first US financial default in history and trigger a worldwide economic calamity.
The White House is pushing to eliminate tax breaks.
Republicans’ budget fix would rely on deep spending cuts.