Republicans in Congress are seeking to bridge internal divisions in order to lift US borrowing limits as dwindling government funding could spark a new brush with sovereign default in less than three weeks.
To avert another fiscal crisis, John Boehner, speaker of the House of Representatives, needs to persuade fellow Republican lawmakers to pass a bill that would raise the debt ceiling.
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“We’re still discussing options with members,” a spokesman for Mr Boehner said on Sunday.
The Obama administration turned up the pressure on Republicans on Friday when Jack Lew, treasury secretary, told Mr Boehner in a letter that he had until the end of February to reach a solution.
Mr Lew said that extraordinary measures that were put in place on Friday to keep funding the federal government would stop working by February 27.
“At that point, Treasury would be left with only the cash on hand and any incoming revenue to meet our country’s commitments,” he wrote.
He said that cash on hand was likely to be about $50bn, while net daily expenditures for the government could be as high as $60bn.
Republican leaders have looked at attaching several possible conditions to make a debt ceiling bill palatable to members, including rolling back military pension cuts from a December budget deal.
But they have dropped more radical ideas such as demanding the approval for the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada or the repeal of some elements of President Barack Obama’s landmark healthcare law.
If Republicans cannot agree on what conditions are desirable or feasible, leaders could also push for a “clean” bill to raise the debt limit with no conditions attached.
Since a Republican climbdown ended the government shutdown last October, Mr Boehner has been more willing to strike bipartisan deals – including the December budget – by standing up to Tea Party colleagues who have been behind a lot of budget brinkmanship in the past three years.
Chris Krueger, Washington analyst at Guggenheim Securities, said the passage of a clean bill would amount to a “total cave” by House Republicans.
But worse for Mr Boehner, he said in a report, would be for the Democratic-controlled Senate to pass a debt ceiling raise that pushed the House into a corner and included a host of add-ons wanted by Democrats, such as an extension of unemployment insurance.
Time is especially short because the House is only in session for three days next week and then goes on recess before returning on February 25.
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