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Obama expects deficit deal within two weeks
aking questions over Twitter at a White House town hall, Obama didn’t rule out using the 14th amendment to the Constitution to order Congress to raise the debt ceiling. But he said the debt-limit debate shouldn’t even get to the Constitutional question and urged lawmakers to raise the ceiling.
Obama answered questions a day before he is scheduled to sit down at the White House with congressional leaders of both parties to try to hammer out a deficit-reduction agreement. The Treasury says the government will exhaust its borrowing power on Aug. 2 if Congress doesn’t raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.
Earlier Wednesday, White House spokesman Jay Carney said there are enough Democrats and Republicans in Congress who would support eliminating some tax breaks as part of a deal to slash the deficit.
Republicans have insisted that tax increases are off limits. But a majority of Senate Republicans recently voted to end a tax break for ethanol producers. Sen. Lamar Alexander, the No. 3 Senate Republican, has targeted energy subsidies for elimination.
On Wednesday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad was reportedly set to offer a plan to cut the deficit through an equal mix of tax increases and spending cuts.
Meanwhile, House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said Wednesday that his party would be glad “to talk loopholes” at the White House on Thursday.
Cantor said any revenue raised by closing loopholes like preferences for the oil and gas industry should be used to pay for “tax cuts somewhere else,” according to the Associated Press.
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