A high-profile effort to trim stubborn U.S. budget deficits appeared near collapse on Friday as Democrats and Republicans were unable to agree on tax increases and benefit cuts.
A 12-member “super committee” in Congress has until midnight on Wednesday to strike a deal that would save at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years. Members say they think a deal is still possible, but aides privately are more pessimistic. Friday is shaping up to be a make-or-break day, one super committee member said.
“We should know by end of today, and I’ll give myself until 11:59 p.m., as to whether or not there will be a deal,” Democratic U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra said at a renewable-energy conference.
Congress is already facing rock-bottom approval ratings after a year of down-to-the-wire budget battles, and failure to reach a deal would likely incite further disgust among voters as the 2012 election season heats up.
For more: U.S. ‘super committee’ on deficit inches closer to abject failure | News | National Post
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