White House Sees Date for Budget Deal or Bust

By MARK LANDLER and JENNIFER STEINHAUER
NYT

WASHINGTON — The White House believes it must strike a budget deal with Congress by July 22 to avoid a risk of defaulting on the national debt, Democratic officials briefed on the negotiations said Thursday, as Senate leaders canceled a recess next week to try to break the deadlock with Republicans.

The July 22 date looms large, the officials said, because it will take lawmakers at least a week to draft a bill and get it through two houses before Aug. 2. That is the day when, officials say, the government will reach its debt ceiling and no longer be able to borrow what it needs to keep operating and repay existing debt.

President Obama challenged Republicans on Wednesday to accept higher taxes as part of any package to reduce the deficit, a challenge that House Speaker John A. Boehner swiftly rejected. But underneath these fixed positions, the Democratic officials said, were hints of Republican flexibility, which gives the White House hope that it can strike a deal, albeit probably at the last minute.

While they emphasized that no agreement had been reached on any major items, the officials said the two parties were coalescing around $200 billion in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, trims that Mr. Obama has held up as an example of cuts that will inflict pain on his Democratic base.

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