The two parties remain deeply divided on how to handle the federal deficit.
While Democrats argue wealthy Americans and corporations should pay more taxes, Republicans say spending should be cut.
Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, and senior White House adviser Steve Richetti met with the Republican leaders for about two hours and came away with little comment to the media.
And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns the federal government won’t have enough money to pay all of its obligations by June 1, which could lead to a default that will hurt the US economy and increase the cost of borrowing.
Earlier on Sunday, Biden told reporters at the end of the Group of Seven summit that recent Republican demands for spending cuts as a condition for raising the US government’s debt ceiling are “frankly unacceptable.”
The US President added: “Now is the time for the other side to abandon its extremist positions.”
Biden has also indicated that he is considering using a constitutional mechanism to avoid US default.
He continued, “I can’t guarantee they won’t fabricate a defect,” pointing out, “I’m studying Section 14 of the US Constitution to see if we have the legal authority” to circumvent Congress.
And Article 14, added to the US Constitution in 1868, states that “the validity of the public debt of the United States authorized by law shall not be questioned”. In other words, expenditures approved by vote must be respected.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
