Obama Renews Push for a Bipartisan Deal on Debt

By JACKIE CALMES and JENNIFER STEINHAUER
NYT

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday renewed his push for an ambitious deficit-reduction deal, hailing a bipartisan package put forward hours earlier by a group of six senators as a sign of progress and summoning Congressional leaders for a new round of negotiations.

Saying time is running out to get a deal before the government hits its debt ceiling on Aug. 2, Mr. Obama said a proposal worked on for months and put on the table by the so-called Gang of Six — the group of senators who offered a plan for roughly $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade — suggested there was still hope for a bipartisan deal.

The group’s plan, modeled on the recommendations last year of a fiscal commission set up by Mr. Obama, includes new revenues as well as substantial spending cuts.

The president spoke as the House prepared to vote on a Republican plan that would cut spending next year, cap it for the long term and call for a Constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget.

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