US President Barack Obama on Saturday met Democratic senators in a bid to find a fiscal deal as the US government shutdown drags on into its 12th day and the negotiation between the White House and House Republicans stalled.
US President Barack Obama on Saturday met Democratic senators in a bid to find a fiscal deal as the US government shutdown drags on into its 12th day and the negotiation between the White House and House Republicans stalled.
In a hastily arranged meeting, Obama, a Democrat, met with Senate Democrats in the White House to discuss a way out of the fiscal deadlock, the White House said Saturday, Xinhua reported.
Earlier, Senate Republicans blocked an effort by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, to extend the government’s borrowing authority through the end of 2014 without other conditions attached, a so-called “clean debt limit” bill.
In a 53-45 vote, the upper chamber failed to win the 60 votes necessary to advance the bill to a floor debate.
The Senate bill aimed at increasing the federal debt by about $1 trillion. Republicans intended to tie fiscal reform conditions to any bill to increase the government’s borrowing authority.
-IANS
