Democratic and Republican leaders of the U.S. House and Senate plan to meet with President Barack Obama Friday as a year-end budget deadline approaches, Senator Dick Durbin said Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are scheduled to attend the meeting at the White House, said Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat.
Whether there will be more budget-related Senate votes before the end of the year depends “a lot” on what happens at Friday’s meeting, Durbin said.
“A lot depends on the president’s meeting tomorrow with the leaders and whether that results in a proposal and whether there is any understanding of how that might come to a vote in the House and the Senate,” Durbin said in an interview.
More than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts are set to start taking effect in January unless Congress acts to avert them.
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