US President Barack Obama appealed for public support Saturday to push Congress to avert an unprecedented default on America's national debt as lawmakers worked on dual tracks to reach an elusive deal.
Obama wants US lawmakers to approve a giant package that would not only prevent a default by raising the government's borrowing limit, but also slash trillions of dollars from the country's enormous deficit. He challenged lawmakers "to do something big."
But opposition Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, reject Obama's proposal to raise some taxes in addition to cutting spending. They plan to vote next week on legislation that would tie an increase in the debt limit to a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. Such an amendment is unlikely to get enacted.
In the Senate, the Republican and Democratic leaders worked on a bipartisan plan that would allow Obama to raise the debt limit without a prior vote by lawmakers. The talks focused on how to address long-term deficit reduction in the proposal in hopes of satisfying House Republicans.
As a critical August 2 deadline approached, the chances that Obama would get $4 trillion or even $2 trillion in deficit reduction on terms he preferred were quickly fading as Congress moved to take control of the debate. At a news conference Friday, Obama opened the door to a smaller package of deficit reductions without revenue increases.
Obama's communications director, Dan Pfeiffer, said the president, vice-president Joe Biden and White House aides were discussing "various options" on Saturday with congressional leaders and House and Senate aides from both parties.
The White House held out the possibility of arranging a meeting with the leaders on Sunday.