White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the Senate is making progress on a deal to end the fiscal impasse but said, "we're far from a deal at this point."
He also urged the House of Representatives to adopt a bipartisan approach to resolving the issue.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives failed to reach internal consensus on Tuesday on how to break an impasse on the federal budget that could soon result in an economically damaging default on the country's debt.
House Republican leaders proposed a plan to reopen the government and avoid debt default but it was rejected in a meeting with rank and file lawmakers. The plan differed in a few important details from one in the U.S. Senate.
House Speaker John Boehner said they had not reached any decisions on how to proceed, but were determined not to allow a default.
Senate leaders said they were close to an agreement on their side that would reopen the gove
