President Obama admitted that efforts to reach a budget deal may be at an impasse if Republicans aren’t willing to raise taxes without attaching caveats on entitlement spending.
“We’re probably not going to be able to get a deal” without Republicans first taking off the table entitlement spending reform as a condition of tax hikes, Mr. Obama said in an interview with ABC News broadcast on Wednesday.
Mr. Obama said a stalemate wouldn’t be tantamount to a government crisis, though it would be disappointing and regrettable.
He was hoping “to identify what I call the common-sense caucus” for budget planning during his personal visits to Capitol Hill and with key Republican politicos earlier this week, he said.
• This article is based in part on wire service reports.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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