Talks at the White House to try to break the deadlock¹ over the US national debt have broken up without agreement.

美国白宫就试图打破国债僵局问题所举行的会谈没有达成一致意见。

Out of focus on the budget; the key players could not bridge the gap in talks at the White House
President Barack Obama and congressional leaders have agreed to resume the talks, which ended after 75 minutes, on Monday.

Mr Obama is struggling to marshal（整理，引领） support for a budget package that would cut the national debt by $4tn (£2.5tn).

The US risks defaulting on its debts in just over three weeks, when the current federal budget runs out.

Eight top Senate and House of Representatives leaders met - unusually - on a Sunday in the Cabinet Room of the White House.

As the talks got under way, Mr Obama was asked whether they could "work it out in 10 days".

"We need to," he replied.

The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, said on Saturday that he favoured a less ambitious（有雄心的） target for debt reduction of $2tn.

Republicans baulk（阻止，犹豫） at tax increases in the Obama proposals. And his Democrat³ allies are no more enthusiastic about proposals to cut social welfare and Medicaid.

Before Sunday's meeting, White House aides insisted Mr Obama would hold out for bigger savings⁴.

"He's not someone to walk away from a tough fight," said White House chief of staff William Daley.

"Everyone agrees that a number around $4tn is the number that will make a serious dent²（凹痕，削减） in our deficit⁵."

US Treasury⁶ Secretary Timothy Geithner was adamant⁷（固执的，坚强的） the deadline for a deal - 2 August - could be extended.

He warned there could be catastrophic damage to the US economy unless Congress agrees to raise the national debt ceiling beyond the current $14.3tn.

If no agreement is reached, the government will effectively start to run out of money to pay civil servants, government contractors⁸, pensioners⁹ or holders¹⁰ of government debt.

Economists¹¹ and the White House have warned that such a default could push the country back into recession and have a global economic impact.