Huffington Post is reporting that Obama and Boehner Reach Deal
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders reached historic agreement Sunday night on a compromise to permit vital U.S. borrowing by the Treasury in exchange for more than $2 trillion in long-term spending cuts.
Officials said Republican Speaker John Boehner telephoned Obama at mid-evening to say the agreement had been struck.
No votes were expected in either house of Congress until Monday at the earliest, to give rank and file lawmakers to review the package.
"Leaders from both parties have come together for the sake of our economy to reach a historic, bipartisan compromise that ends this dangerous standoff," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on the Senate floor Sunday night.
"At this point I think I can say with a high degree of confidence that there is now a framework to review that will ensure significant cuts in Washington spending," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
Here's President Obama's announcement.
Today 8:48 PM Obama Announces Deal
President Obama announced Sunday night that Congress and the White House had reached agreement on a deal to raise the debt ceiling, which would cut about $1 trillion in spending over the next 10 years and create a bipartisan committee to propose further cuts by November.
"Is this the deal I would have preferred? No," the president said. "I believe we could have made the tough choices required on entitlement reform and tax reform right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process." But the agreement does ensure that the U.S. will not default on its debt obligations, the president announced.
"This has been messy, it's taken far too long," the president continued. "Nevertheless, the leaders of both parties have found their way toward compromise, and I want to thank them for that."
"We're not done yet," Obama said. "I want to urge members of both parties to do the right thing and support this deal."
More to come
6:17 PM PT: Reuters confirms President Obama's announcement.
http://www.reuters.com/...
Obama announces deal reached to end debt crisis
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the debt ceiling crisis in the briefing room at the White House in Washington July 31, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
WASHINGTON | Sun Jul 31, 2011 8:57pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Sunday that Democrats and Republicans leaders have reached an agreement to reduce the U.S. deficit and avoid default.
Obama said the agreement will cut about $1 trillion over 10 years..
(Reporting by JoAnne Allen)