out a plan palatable to both sides, and there s a separate push for the balanced budget amendment. the president suggested this morning that the u.s. doesn t have time have for any proposals. we don t need a constitutional amendment to do our jobs. the constitution already tells us to do our jobs and to make sure that the government is living within its means and making responsible choices. so it this notion that we re going to go through a multi-year process instead of seizing the moment now and taking care of our problems is a typical washington response. we don t need more studies. we don t need a balanced budget amendment. we simply need to make these tough choices and be willing to take on our bases. everybody knows that. so august 2nd is the looming deadline. that s the day when the treasury warns the u.s. will have to decide which bills it will pay and which ones won t get paid. with no talks scheduled at the white house today, house republicans offering up their o
no agreement. nor is there an agreement on a house republican push for a much smaller plan made up of spending cuts alone. if all else fails, we may end up with an idea floated by the top senate republican, mitch mcconnell. we laid it out for you. three separate votes between now and the next elections to raise the nation s debt by $2.5 trillion, and there would be $1 trillion in spending cuts and a special congressional panel to shore up entitlements, and the up side supposedly for republicans is keeping the issue alive for another year and blaming the president, who, by the way, is not ruling it out. it s constructive to say if washington operates as usual and cannot get anything done, let s at least avert armageddon. that s i m glad that people are serious about the consequences of default. i want to bring in my colleagues from the white house. dan, to you first. the president says the negotiations have not been ugly, as some have claimed, and he still has hope for a