House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer says he would welcome the late June deadline proposed by Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, by which Congress must agree on increasing the country’s debt ceiling.
“I welcome Boehner’s comments that we ought to get it done by the end of the month,” said Hoyer, D-Md., after a meeting between House Democrats and President Obama. “Adults need to come together to get this done.”
Congress has until Aug. 2 to approve an increase in the government’s borrowing capacity, or else the U.S. will default on its debt.
“We are taking some first steps,” Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said tentatively when asked for any indication of progress in the budget negotiations.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., admitted that the parties have not engaged on some of the most divisive issues.
He derided the plan advanced by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as a “lopsided approach.”
Hoyer said the Democrats also focused on the importance of creating more jobs in “this economy, which has slowed.”
He said the meeting was “very, very productive.”
