March 6 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama invited a group of Republican senators to dinner in an effort to find a coalition on a deficit-cutting deal.
Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma is among senators invited to dine with Obama tonight, Coburn’s spokesman, John Hart, said. He didn’t specify who else was invited or where the dinner would take place. An administration official who asked for anonymity because the dinner hasn’t been officially announced said it would take place outside the White House.
Separately, Obama plans to attend a lunch at the Capitol with Senate Republicans on March 14, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. The meeting was requested by Obama yesterday through his chief of staff, McConnell said. Obama is scheduled to have a luncheon meeting with Senate Democrats March 12.
Obama has been calling lawmakers in what may be a shift in presidential strategy to try and strike a bipartisan deficit- reduction agreement. The president is seeking support for a deal to reduce the deficit through a mix of tax increases, spending cuts and changes to entitlement programs.
The New York Times reported earlier that the dinner meeting includes about a dozen senators.
The next deadline for Congress and the White House is March 27, when government funding is set to expire. The House plans to vote as soon as today on a measure to finance the government through Sept. 30. The House proposal would keep in place $85 billion in spending cuts that began March 1 while giving the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs more leeway to allocate funding. Leaders of both parties have said they expect to head off a government shutdown.
Deal Opportunity
With the full $1.2 trillion spending-cut plan still mandated for the next nine years, lawmakers say the coming months could offer one more opportunity for the type of deficit- reduction bargain that has eluded Congress and Obama.
Investors haven’t shown concern that the standoff over taxes and spending will harm the economy. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is within 1.7 percent of a record after the Dow Jones Industrial Average yesterday jumped to a new high, erasing losses from the financial crisis.
Obama is pressing Senate Republicans “to take up his offer which remains on the table from the fiscal cliff negotiations and to move forward with a balanced approach to deficit reduction that includes revenues through tax reform,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
Republican lawmakers have said they are encouraged by the White House outreach.
“Senate Republicans welcome the president to the Capitol,” McConnell said in the statement. “And I appreciate he took my recommendation to hear from all of my members.”
--Editors: Joe Sobczyk, Justin Blum
To contact the reporters on this story: Roger Runningen in Washington at [email protected] Kathleen Hunter in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Komarow at [email protected]
Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma is among senators invited to dine with Obama tonight, Coburn’s spokesman, John Hart, said. He didn’t specify who else was invited or where the dinner would take place. An administration official who asked for anonymity because the dinner hasn’t been officially announced said it would take place outside the White House.
Separately, Obama plans to attend a lunch at the Capitol with Senate Republicans on March 14, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. The meeting was requested by Obama yesterday through his chief of staff, McConnell said. Obama is scheduled to have a luncheon meeting with Senate Democrats March 12.
Obama has been calling lawmakers in what may be a shift in presidential strategy to try and strike a bipartisan deficit- reduction agreement. The president is seeking support for a deal to reduce the deficit through a mix of tax increases, spending cuts and changes to entitlement programs.
The New York Times reported earlier that the dinner meeting includes about a dozen senators.
The next deadline for Congress and the White House is March 27, when government funding is set to expire. The House plans to vote as soon as today on a measure to finance the government through Sept. 30. The House proposal would keep in place $85 billion in spending cuts that began March 1 while giving the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs more leeway to allocate funding. Leaders of both parties have said they expect to head off a government shutdown.
Deal Opportunity
With the full $1.2 trillion spending-cut plan still mandated for the next nine years, lawmakers say the coming months could offer one more opportunity for the type of deficit- reduction bargain that has eluded Congress and Obama.
Investors haven’t shown concern that the standoff over taxes and spending will harm the economy. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is within 1.7 percent of a record after the Dow Jones Industrial Average yesterday jumped to a new high, erasing losses from the financial crisis.
Obama is pressing Senate Republicans “to take up his offer which remains on the table from the fiscal cliff negotiations and to move forward with a balanced approach to deficit reduction that includes revenues through tax reform,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said.
Republican lawmakers have said they are encouraged by the White House outreach.
“Senate Republicans welcome the president to the Capitol,” McConnell said in the statement. “And I appreciate he took my recommendation to hear from all of my members.”
--Editors: Joe Sobczyk, Justin Blum
To contact the reporters on this story: Roger Runningen in Washington at [email protected] Kathleen Hunter in Washington at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Komarow at [email protected]