Biden, GOP seek debt-ceiling deal as default looms

President Joe Biden and Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy entered a critical week for debt-ceiling talks hoping they can
find common ground on spending levels and energy regulations to avert a devastating default.
Ahead of a planned Tuesday sitdown between Democrat Biden, McCarthy and the three other top congressional leaders, the two sides did not appear close to an agreement. The White House has not ruled out the annual spending caps that Republicans say must accompany any increase in the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt limit.
Republicans, who control the House, for their part, are not insisting on other conditions that the White House has deemed off limits, such as a repeal of the green-energy incentives in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
The two sides could also potentially find common ground on energy regulations.