House and Senate Budget Negotiators Break Off Talks
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WASHINGTON — House and Senate budget negotiators, unable to agree on cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients or on defense spending, abruptly broke off their talks today.
The impasse makes it less likely that Congress will be able to produce a comprehensive plan to reduce the more than $200 billion in deficits projected for each of the next three years.
“I have concluded that there is no useful purpose to continue this conference if we cannot change the cost-of-living adjustment,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.).
House Budget Committee Chairman William H. Gray III (D-Pa.) agreed that further meetings are useless unless some compromise can be reached on the issue.
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