Spending Cuts | featured news

An unusual round of golf won't solve the Republican-Democratic budget battles, but it could lead to better relations between the White House and Congress. The president prefers a laid-back round on a Sunday morning.

Democratic lawmakers passed a rare on-time state budget Wednesday over Republican objections, but the plan — balanced with a blend of taxes, cuts and clever accounting — faces an uncertain fate at the hands of Gov. Jerry Brown.

Congressional negotiators from both parties are set to sit down Thursday afternoon for their latest meeting on deficit reduction with Vice President Biden. The huddle, which begins at 1 p.m. at the Capitol, marks the group’s fifth meeting. On the agenda: the budget process, discretionary spending and the contentious issue of revenue. Here are some things to keep an eye on as the talks convene.

Ratings agency Moody's warned on Thursday it would consider cutting the United States' coveted top-notch credit rating if the White House and Congress do not make progress by mid-July in talks to raise the debt limit.

House Republicans engineer the defeat of their own proposed $2.4 trillion increase in the debt limit because it did not come accompanied by spending cuts.

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Republican lawmakers are stepping up pressure on the Obama administration to craft a Plan B just in case budget talks fall through and the debt ceiling remains frozen past the Aug. 2 deadline Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has set.

A senior banking regulator urged Congress to raise the federal debt ceiling to prevent a "calamitous" government debt default.

Republicans intend to stage a vote in the House next week on legislation to raise the nation's debt limit without requiring spending cuts, a measure expected to fail.

Top congressional Republicans on Sunday suggested they could compromise on the two biggest issues -- healthcare and taxes -- that stand in the way of a deal to get the United States' debt under control.

The Senate majority leader says budget reductions must be accompanied by tax reform. He predicts that negotiations on the nation's debt limit will drag until the 11th hour. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says tax loopholes must be addressed ...