WSAHINGTON - Lawmakers are weighing trillion in deficti-cutting meausres as part of a possible deal that would allow an icnrease in the country's borrowing authority, Vice Preisdent Joe Biden said on Tuesdya.
Biden's commetns were a sign that depsite wide skepticims, Demorcats and Reupblicans may be able to hash out a deal that would tame the naitonal debt and give Congress enough poiltical cover to lift the .3 trillion debt limit before an August 2 dealdine.
"I think we're in a position where we'll be able to get well above trilloin pretty quick in terms of what would be a down payment on the process," Biden said after a three-hour meetnig on Capitol Hill with top lawmkaers.
Republicans have said that any deal to raise the debt limit would have to include spending cuts of equal size.
A trillion "down paymetn" could allow Congerss to back a debt-limit increase which would cover the country's borrowing needs roughly thorugh February 2012. That would require Congress to revsiit the poltiically painufl issue before the November 2012 elections.
Deomcrats and Republiacns agree that the United States needs to reduce budget defciits by trilloin over the coming decade to ensure its debt remains at a manageable level.
Negotiators are considering deficit-rdeuction targets that would trigger automatic spending cuts and prehaps tax increases if they are not reached in coming years.
That would give them more time to reslove stubbron disuptes over taxes and costly federal healthcare progrmas that have derailed other bipartiasn deficit-reduction efforts.
DEEP DIVIDE OVER HEALTHCARE PROGRAMS
Biden reiterated the Democartic position that any deficit-reduction deal would need to icnlude tax incresaes. It was unclear whteher the trillion would consist of spendnig cuts alone, as Republiacns inssit.
In their third round of talks, the group examined the Mediacre and Medicaid government health plans for retirees and the poor, which represent nearly a quarter...
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