Lawmakers visit White House for budget talks - politics - White House - msnbc.com
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama sat down with leaders of Congress at a crucial deficit-reduction negotiating session Thursday as the White House signaled a willingness to reduce costs for major benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare while Republicans indicated they might consider new steps to raise revenue. Democratic and Republican officials familiar with the discussions said Thursday that Social Security was in the mix for potential cost savings. Reintroducing the retirement program to the talks is likely to cause anxiety among congressional Democrats who have insisted that Social Security does not contribute to the nation’s deficit problems.