Debt talks feature dire warnings, a possible compromise

WASHINGTON — With time growing short and warnings more dire, the first, fragile signs emerged Thursday of a possible compromise to raise the nation's debt limit and avert a potentially catastrophic default on Aug. 2.

Under a plan discussed by the Senate's top two leaders, President Barack Obama would receive enhanced authority to raise the debt limit while procedures would be set in motion that could lead to federal spending cuts.

Word that Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky were at work on the fallback plan came as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jaime Dimon admonished bickering lawmakers that failure to avoid an unprecedented default could have a devastating effect on an already anemic U.S. economy.

It was unclear when McConnell and Reid might unveil their legislation, or whether they would first present their ideas to Obama and others involved in the daily meetings at the White House. A new session was under way late Thursday.

One option under discussion by the Senate leaders is creation of a group of lawmakers who could recommend spending cuts, possibly including changes in benefit programs, that would be guaranteed a yes-or-no vote in Congress.

Another would be to couple any presidential request for a debt increase with spending cuts, including some that have emerged in private talks led first by Vice President Joe Biden, and now by Obama.

The seriousness of the situation was underscored throughout the day.

Testifying before a Senate panel, Bernanke said a default would deal a "self-inflicted wound" to the nation's economy, driving up interest rates and slowing recovery from the deep recession.

Dimon, speaking to reporters in New York, said default could prove catastrophic. "Why take that chance? I wouldn't take that chance," he said, answering his own rhetorical question.

Obama met with congressional leaders at the White House for a fifth straight day, although press secretary Jay Carney cautioned not to expect a "hallelujah moment" when it was over.

Talks have been stymied by a dispute over tax increases as part of any deal to cut future deficits. Obama and Democrats want them, while Republicans don't.

The concept under discussion by the Senate leaders is a more elaborate version of a plan McConnell suggested earlier in the week to a less-than-enthusiastic reception from conservatives.

In his first substantive remarks on McConnell's initial suggestion, Speaker John Boehner told reporters, "What may look like something less than optimal today, if we're unable to get an agreement might look pretty good a few weeks from now."

Carney made no direct mention of the plan, but said if there was no progress toward a bipartisan agreement on cuts by Friday, "then we have to begin looking at making sure that we fulfill our obligations to uphold the credit rating of the United States."

He did not elaborate.

Whatever choice was made, it was clear time was running out.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner met privately at the Capitol with Senate Democrats, emerging to say: "We have no way to give Congress more time to solve this problem."

So the alarms covered a broad front: Geithner is a senior official in the Obama administration, Bernanke is the nation's central banker and Dimon the head of one of Wall Street's best-known firms.