"President Barack Obama said lawmakers appear to have made progress on a deal to reopen the government and avert a looming default on Monday as he prepared to meet congressional leaders with a Thursday deadline drawing near.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were due to meet at 3 p.m. with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, the White House said.
Talks have been largely fruitless since what appeared to be a breakthrough on Thursday, but senators and aides from both parties said they still thought they could reach agreement in the coming hours.
With the most unrealistic demands taken away, the two sides were trying to craft a temporary measure that would allow Washington to step back from the ledge.
A major sticking point appears to be the level of government spending, which has been reduced by the deep, across-the-board "sequester" spending cuts that took effect in March. Another round of cuts are scheduled to kick in early next year. McConnell wants to protect them even though most Democrats and some Republicans want them eased.
Senate Republicans were pushing a plan that would keep the sequester cuts in place for up to six months. Democrats want to extend them for a much shorter period - initially proposing until November 15 - and then have spending rise to a slightly higher level.
The approximately $72 billion difference between the two positions is not insurmountable, but it could draw objections from conservatives in the House".
Source: Reuters
