House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Oct. 11, 2013. President Barack Obama and Republicans in the House of Representatives are exploring whether they can end a budget standoff that has triggered a partial government shutdown and put Washington on the verge of an economy-jarring federal default.Officials say House Republicans are offering to pass legislation to avert a default and end the partial government shutdown as part of a package that includes cuts in benefit programs.
Senior aides to Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor outlined the proposal at a late-night White House meeting Thursday with senior administration officials.
In addition to ending the shutdown and increasing the debt limit, the proposal includes an easing of the across-the-board spending cuts that began taking effect a year ago, and replacing them with curbs in benefit programs that Obama himself has backed.
Among them is a plan to raise the cost of Medicare for better-off beneficiaries.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss private deliberations.