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Reports: Obama, Boehner Working On A 'Major' Budget Deal

President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, take part in a meeting  in the Cabinet Room of the White House.
Charles Dharapak
/
AP
President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, take part in a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House.

As Mark mentioned earlier, The New York Times is reporting that President Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) are "starting to close in on a major budget deal."

After that report emerged, other news organizations started sketching some of the terms of that negotiation.

The Times reports that the deal would entail "substantial spending cuts" and seek new revenues through a tax overhaul in the future. The Hill adds that Democrats were told Wednesday night that Obama was ready to move on a deal that would include "concrete entitlement reforms."

Both Politico and the Washington Post are reporting that Obama and Boehner are working on a plan that would save $3 trillion over the next decade.

The White House, however, took issue with all three reports saying that the deal did not include any plans to raise revenues.

"[The president] believes we need a balanced approach that includes revenues. There is no offer of [a] plan with no revenue," the White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer .

Pfeiffer's comments came shortly after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made it clear to reporters that a deal that made cuts to the budget, should also include an increase in revenue.

"This can't be all cuts, there has to be a balance," Reid said. The Post reports that Reid made the comments after a "rambunctious hour-long meeting with Senate Democrats."

At 5:30 ET, Obama was scheduled to meet with Reid, his number two Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), as well as House Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her number two Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD).

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Eyder Peralta
Eyder Peralta is NPR's East Africa correspondent based in Nairobi, Kenya.