US House speaker confident of debt deal

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WASHINGTON: The top Republicans in the US Congress voiced confidence Saturday of a last-minute debt deal, saying they have resumed talks with President Barack Obama to avert a potentially catastrophic default.

House Speaker John Boehner, speaking next to Senator Mitch McConnell, said that the two Republicans "are both confident that we're going to come to some agreement with the White House and end this impasse."

Boehner voiced optimism even though both the House of Representatives and the Senate, which are led by rival parties, have shot down proposals from the other chamber.

"In spite of our differences, I think we're dealing with reasonable, responsible people who want this crisis to end as quickly as possible. And I'm confident that we will," Boehner told reporters.

McConnell said he has spoken with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday afternoon.

"We are now fully engaged," McConnell said. "I'm confident and optimistic that we're going to get an agreement in the very near future and resolve this crisis in the best interests of the American people."

Boehner accused Obama of holding up the process, saying: "We could have had this bill finished early last week."

The United States has until midnight Tuesday to reach a deal to raise the ceiling for its debt or it will default, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the world economy.

A number of differences persist between the two sides, with the Republicans insisting that action on the debt ceiling come with approval of an amendment to the US Constitution requiring balanced budgets. (AFP)