As $85 billion in government budget cuts took effect on Friday, President Obama blamed Republicans for the lack of a compromise to avert the so-called sequester.
With time running out for a deficit reduction compromise to avert a federal government default, all eyes are on President Obama and Congressional leadership.
The two top priorities for the session are stop-gap financing to keep the government running, and a legislative compromise to avert the outright expiration on Dec. 31 of the income tax cuts enacted during the administration of President George W. Bush.
In January, House Democrats — with a minority of House Republicans — passed a Senate-White House compromise to avert massive tax increases and sudden across-the-board spending cuts, after House Republicans sunk the speaker's more conservative version of the legislation.
A deal was reached late on Monday night when the White House and Congressional leaders reached a compromise to avert some but not all of the austerity measures due to take effect on Tuesday.
Although aides to the Chancellor have often portrayed the tenure bill as a major struggle between him and the principals, there are indications that Mr. Fernandez is trying to work out a compromise to avert such a battle.
BERLIN, Sept. 10 — Representatives of Iran and the European Union said Sunday that they had made progress in the search for a compromise to avert possible United Nations sanctions over Iran's nuclear program, and they said they would meet again soon.
If Obama can engineer a compromise to avert the cliff with the freshly reelected Republican House, he could set the stage for progress on other second-term priorities, including immigration reform, climate change and investments in education and manufacturing.
Then on Tuesday Mr. Clinton called for temporarily extending all the tax cuts set to expire at year's end, including the Bush-era rates, if Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on a long-term budget compromise to avert the tax increases and automatic spending cuts that otherwise will result, jolting the economy.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday in San Francisco that the administration remained "absolutely committed" to finding a compromise to avert a confrontation at the United Nations based on a resumption of negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians along the lines outlined by President Obama in May.
