Obama steps in to end tax row

US President Barack Obama has invited Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican leader Mitch McConnell to separate meetings Monday, in an effort to resolve stalled debt talks.



Republican negotiators abandoned those talks yesterday over the Democrats' insistence on including tax increases in any deficit-reduction plan.



The White House press secretary Jay Carney, says the meeting next week would seek to pick up where negotiations headed by Vice President Joe Biden left off.



Congressional Republicans want to reach a deal on about US$2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years before agreeing to raise the nation's borrowing limit, currently capped at US$14.3 trillion.



The Treasury Department has said it has until August 2 before its ability to pay U.S. debt runs out.



Obama has repeatedly called for a balanced framework for long-term deficit reduction, saying cuts in spending are necessary but that additional tax revenue should also be part of the equation.



But Democrats insist that additional revenues be found by ending tax breaks, alongside the trillions of dollars in spending cuts.