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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US Republicans in debt-ceiling offer | US Republicans in debt-ceiling offer |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US Republicans have offered President Barack Obama a short-term debt limit increase to stave off default. | US Republicans have offered President Barack Obama a short-term debt limit increase to stave off default. |
| House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said they would do so in exchange for negotiations with the White House to end a government shutdown that took effect on 1 October. | |
| Republicans will meet Mr Obama, who is a Democrat, later on Thursday. | |
| Officials have warned the US risks default on 17 October if the nation's borrowing limit is not increased. | |
| Mr Boehner told reporters on Thursday: "What we want to do is to offer the president today the ability to move a temporary increase in the debt ceiling in agreement to go to conference on the budget for his willingness to sit down and discuss with us a way forward to reopen the government." | |
| "It's time for leadership," the Ohio Republican said. "It's time for these negotiations and this conversation to begin." | |
| Worker layoffs | |
| It was still unclear if Republicans are now willing to end the government shutdown without dropping their demands to defund or delay Mr Obama's 2010 healthcare law, a bone of contention which brought about the political showdown. | |
| Democratic Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said Republican demands to undermine the healthcare law in return for agreeing to end the shutdown was "not up for debate" and would not happen. | |
| Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been out of work since the shutdown began, and private firms, from arms makers to motels, have begun to lay off workers as well. | |
| About 15,000 private-sector workers have filed for unemployment benefits due to the shutdown, the labour department said on Thursday. | |
| A spokesman for Mr Boehner told reporters that the deal on the table ahead of Thursday afternoon's meeting was a "clean" increase of the debt limit, with no additional policies attached. | A spokesman for Mr Boehner told reporters that the deal on the table ahead of Thursday afternoon's meeting was a "clean" increase of the debt limit, with no additional policies attached. |
| But it would only last six weeks - until 22 November. | |
| On Wednesday, Mr Obama met House Democrats at the White House and told them he would prefer a longer-term increase to the nation's $16.69 trillion (£10.47 trillion) debt ceiling. | On Wednesday, Mr Obama met House Democrats at the White House and told them he would prefer a longer-term increase to the nation's $16.69 trillion (£10.47 trillion) debt ceiling. |
| But the president said he was willing to accept a short-term rise in the borrowing cap to "give Boehner some time to deal with the Tea Party wing of his party", Representative Peter Welch told the Associated Press news agency after the meeting. | But the president said he was willing to accept a short-term rise in the borrowing cap to "give Boehner some time to deal with the Tea Party wing of his party", Representative Peter Welch told the Associated Press news agency after the meeting. |
| The White House has not yet responded to Mr Boehner's offer, but has repeatedly said Mr Obama would not negotiate until Republicans had dropped brinkmanship on the debt ceiling and agreed to lift the government shutdown. | |
| The stalemate has harmed the approval ratings of both Democrats and Republicans, but the Republicans' popularity has taken the worst hit and is now at a record low of 28%, according to a Gallup poll. | |
| 'Mind-boggling' | |
| Earlier, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told a congressional panel the US could not prioritise between its payment obligations once borrowing was exhausted. | Earlier, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told a congressional panel the US could not prioritise between its payment obligations once borrowing was exhausted. |
| Mr Lew warned lawmakers the government could miss pension and healthcare payments for the elderly as well as military salaries. | Mr Lew warned lawmakers the government could miss pension and healthcare payments for the elderly as well as military salaries. |
| And a skipping payment on US debt would trigger a potentially more profound financial crisis, he warned. | |
| "This system was not designed to be turned off selectively," Mr Lew told a Senate hearing. "It would be chaos." | "This system was not designed to be turned off selectively," Mr Lew told a Senate hearing. "It would be chaos." |
| The senior Republican on the panel, Senator Orrin Hatch, accused the Obama administration of "an apparent effort to whip up uncertainty in the markets". | |
| Since the US hit its debt ceiling in May, the US Treasury has been using what are called extraordinary measures to keep paying the bills, but those measures run out on 17 October, Mr Lew has said. | Since the US hit its debt ceiling in May, the US Treasury has been using what are called extraordinary measures to keep paying the bills, but those measures run out on 17 October, Mr Lew has said. |
| On Thursday, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde warned failure by the US to raise its debt ceiling would do serious damage to both the American and global economies. | On Thursday, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde warned failure by the US to raise its debt ceiling would do serious damage to both the American and global economies. |
| The impasse over the debt limit already has already rattled markets, increased the interest rate for one-month US Treasury bills. Financial markets began to rebound on Thursday on news of a possible breakthrough. | |
| The state-run China Daily newspaper in Beijing criticised "the astonishing failure" of the US Congress. | |
| "It is pitiful that the US is now putting the fragile world recovery under renewed threat with its mind-boggling political infighting," it said. |