STEPPING IT UP

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_usa_debt
"The Biden group has stepped up the pace of its talks and plans to meet three times this week.
Obama and House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, want the group to complete its work by July 4 in order to give them plenty of time to hammer out a final deal and get it passed through the House and the Senate well before the August 2 deadline.

As negotiators weigh painful cuts in annual spending and benefit programs, their task could be complicated by the need to weave in measures to stimulate the economy.
Recent data indicate the country is still struggling to emerge from the deepest downturn since the Great Depression, and the unemployment rate ticked up last month to 9.1 percent.

Washington has few tools left to spur faster job growth as the Federal Reserve's sweeping bond-buying program winds down and Congress has no appetite for additional fiscal stimulus.
Still, both parties are eager to show voters they are taking steps to spur job creation."