US President Barack Obama praised efforts by a bipartisan group of senators Tuesday to craft a deficit reduction deal as a deadline on raising the country's debt limit is fast approaching. The proposal by the so-called Gang of Six senators would include a package of both higher taxes and cuts to government spending on healthcare and pensions. Obama has been in talks with congressional leaders this month ahead of an August 2 Treasury Department deadline for raising the country's debt ceiling. He said that though the White House had not yet closely reviewed all the details of the Gang of Six plan, that its broad outline represented the sort of approach he could support. The president told reporters that there had been "some progress" in talks over the weekend, but called on Republicans to get to work on the details of an agreement.
