White House says debt limit compromise 'possible'
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Xinhua, July 28, 2011
With less than one week towards a possible calamitous U.S. debt default deadline, the White House said on Wednesday that a debt limit compromise is essential and possible, adding fresh pressure to the stalemated debt ceiling negotiation process.
In response to some analysts' studies that the nation could postpone for about a week after its borrowing authority expires on Tuesday due to new revenue next month, White House spokesman Jay Carney Wednesday told reporters that the Treasury's borrowing capacity would end on Aug. 2.
The two parties will continue their conversation and there is no time to waste, Carney told CNN in a Wednesday interview.
Carney insisted that Aug. 2 is a "hard deadline" and there are no off-ramps.
The U.S. federal government's borrowing limit, currently at 14. 29 trillion U.S. dollars, was reached on May 16. The Treasury Department said the nation would begin to default without an agreement to lift the limit by Tuesday, as it would run out of maneuvering room to pay its bills.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate were scuttling to pass rival plans, while the White House was endeavoring to bridge the partisan gaps to cut a deal and stave off a debt default crisis.
