Congress hopes to present debt package by Monday

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-debt-talks-20110724,0,3724139.story

Reporting from Washington—
Picking up the pieces after the latest round of debt negotiations imploded, congressional leaders met Saturday with President Obama and began work on a Republican-backed plan to cut spending by roughly $3 trillion over 10 years in exchange for their vote to raise the debt ceiling, according to a leadership aide familiar with the deal.

Although the proposal still faced stiff hurdles with Democrats, House Speaker John A. Boehner — who abruptly broke off talks with the White House on Friday but was present Saturday — told GOP leaders in a conference call that he hoped to report significant progress, if not a deal, within 24 hours, according to a participant.

But as talks continued into the evening, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he was "deeply disappointed in the status of the negotiations" with Republicans. At issue is whether Republicans will agree to raise the debt ceiling through the end of 2012, as Obama has demanded.

Time is running short. Administration officials say if Congress doesn't vote to raise the debt ceiling by the Aug. 2 deadline, the U.S. government will not be able to pay its bills, unnerving investors and lenders around the globe.