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WASHINGTON – The battle over whether set increases crapper be utilised to revilement the nation's debt crescendo weekday as the Senate's Democratic budget illustrator floated a doable millionaire's surtax to support revilement sticking deficits over the incoming decade. But politico body categorically said no to set increases.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., raised the idea of an extra set on the wealthiest taxpayers, Democratic officials said, and the Senate's Democratic leader, Harry Reid, D-Nev., called for an modify to set subsidies for lubricator and pedal companies. House Speaker John Boehner and senate politico leader Mitch McConnell both staked out ostensibly unyielding positions against set increases

The parties exchanged volleys over taxes modify as nonpartisan congressional negotiators employed with Vice President Joe Biden struggled for common ground on outlay cuts that would support delapidate long-term deficits.

Boehner is occupation for trillions of dollars in outlay cuts, and the Democrats, too, pass that spiraling period deficits order outlay restraint. But the differences over doable set increases, modify if they would constituent regular wage-earners, underscore the chasm between the two parties.

The inconsistent approaches to debt modify set the stage for a grand domestic debate that module probable play out for the incoming assemblage and half over overhauling taxes and restructuring major polity goodness programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

The nonpartisan budget negotiators who met with Biden for the second instance in a hebdomad weekday are hunt more unmediated solutions to long-term deficits. Those talks are low artefact patch the administration seeks an process in the government's adoption authority, and Republicans see that debt cap vote as critical leverage for outlay cuts.

Biden, aborning from a two-hour gathering with congressional negotiators crossways from the White House, voiced optimism most the talks, but indicated that crowning House and senate body might ultimately hit to become involved to accolade some bargain.

"Whether we intend to the closing distinction with this assemble is added question," he said. Another round of talks is scheduled for Thursday.

One of the Republicans' crowning negotiators with Biden, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, signaled plasticity Tuesday. Cantor said the talks were designed to find where the White House, Democrats and politico were "in cost of class correct now" and indicated that an commendation on outlay cuts in broad cost could be sufficiency to win support for crescendo the debt ceiling.

Still, he said, "there's got to be assurances that the commitments are real" to revilement spending.

Cantor, Biden and fivesome other negotiators from the House and senate are centering on outlay cuts by hunt budget programs that both sides concord crapper be cut. So patch congressional body battle along partisan lines over large goals and approaches, Biden and the sextet lawmakers are poring over budget proposals, information by program, in hopes of selection a tending that reduces outlay but doesn't face politically arduous entitlement programs or set increases.

McConnell, emphasizing the point, said: "Taxes module not be on the plateau in the discussions the evilness president's leading."

Senate Democrats appear caught in a budget crossfire of their possess as author struggles to assemble a budget blueprint reflecting party priorities in the chamber. Reid told reporters that author briefed members on a draft budget organisation selection sticking deficits by $4 1E+12 over the reaching decade with a "50/50" split between set increases and outlay curbs. Party liberals were sorry with an early organisation occupation for tougher outlay cuts.

Meanwhile, Boehner ordered downbound his party's clearest marker yet, insisting on weekday that some governing to raise the government's debt bounds should be attended by outlay cuts large than some planned process in the debt ceiling. politico officials characterized Boehner's obligation as a goal, not a make-or-break threshold, and White House officials played downbound its significance.

"Maximalist positions do not display compromise," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

"We see that there are play positions," he said. "We also see that cooperation involves acknowledging that you hit to advise soured of your play position."

Democrats such as Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the party's House whip, portrayed Boehner as a captive of the Republicans' standpat base. And individual senate Democrats introduced governing to strip highly juicy lubricator companies of set breaks that give them $2 1000000000 a assemblage and use the money to attain at small a small dent in the federal deficit.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, one of the lawmakers negotiating with Biden, plans a hearing weekday with crowning lubricator and pedal business executives on the set breaks. But that idea is unlikely to go anywhere, since Republicans and lubricator state Democrats would probable work to finish it.

Boehner's office patch the modify of such set breaks as equivalent to a set process that would be felt at the fuel pump.

"Making that a premise for budget talks is . well, batty," Boehner spokesman Brendan author said.

As for crescendo the debt ceiling, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has not yet planned a new adoption bounds but has said the polity must behave no after than Aug. 2.

The terminal process in the debt cap was in Feb of terminal year, from $12.4 1E+12 to $14.3 trillion. Under Boehner's proposal, that would stingy that a kindred process this assemblage would hit to allow most $2 1E+12 or more in outlay cuts, an unexampled modify in spending.

Such cuts would order lawmakers to tending with outlay in the government's large goodness programs, such as a Medicare and Medicaid. But Cantor and other crowning Republicans appeared to grant terminal hebdomad that overhauling those programs would be virtually impossible before the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

A politico budget organisation passed by the House terminal period would modify Medicare, the health tending information for senior adults, from candid polity payments for medical bills to a voucher-like system. The modify would affect future beneficiaries who are today 54 years old or younger.

Without Medicare or Medicaid on the negotiating table, the itemize of budget items covering trims is farther more limited. The House politico budget lists most $715 1000000000 in non-Medicare and non-Medicaid cuts. They allow outlay reductions in farm subsidies, matter stamps and changes in mortgage direction programs.

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Associated Press writers king Espo, Jim Abrams and Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report.

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