Biden to Meet with Congressional Leaders about Budget

One day after President Obama signed a bill to avert - for at least 2 more weeks - a federal government shutdown, Vice President Joe Biden will meet with Congressional leaders this afternoon in an effort to move forward with budget negotiations. Accompanying Vice President Biden from the White House are OMB Director Jacob Lew and Chief of Staff Bill Daley, who will meet with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

It is a good sign that the Obama Administration and Congress are willing to take this step and attempt to work together on a budget agreement. We hope that this will be a positive first step in bipartisan negotiations on the budget, and a potential model for a much more significant and long-term effort to address our nation's fiscal problems.

As we state in a recent policy paper on ways to responsibly approach raising the debt limit, a budget summit of policymakers could be one approach to start moving our country towards a sustainable fiscal path.

Keep checking back with The Bottom Line for updates on the budget negotiations and other important fiscal news.