Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said on "Face the Nation" yesterday that the administration wants the most comprehensive deficit-cutting deal possible. He reiterated that failing to raise the debt limit could have "catastrophic" consequences for the economy.

On July 9, Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said following a phone conversation with Obama that, amid the stalemate over taxes, all sides must settle for a smaller plan than the president seeks. Before yesterday's White House meeting, Obama said "we need to" reach an agreement within the next 10 days.

During the meeting, Obama said he believed a bigger deal might be politically easier, with both sides making philosophically difficult concessions, said a Democrat familiar with the discussions. The president asked Republicans to return today with details of their proposal, including numbers, the person said.

'Huge Hit'

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said on ABC's "This Week" yesterday that the unresolved situation with the debt ceiling could mean higher interest rates, a higher burden on U.S. taxpayers and "stock markets taking a huge hit and real nasty consequences not just for the United States but for the entire global economy."

Boehner and the president had both been aiming for a larger compromise that would extend the debt ceiling through the next election in 2012. House and Senate Republicans are insisting that spending cuts exceed any increase in the debt ceiling.

Republicans including Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, a participant in previous bipartisan debt talks led by Vice President Joe Biden, say that group had identified between $2 trillion and $2.5 trillion in spending cuts that could serve as a framework for an agreement between Obama and congressional leaders.

Democrats, including Maryland Representative Chris Van Hollen, who participated in the Biden effort, say Democrats never agreed to that amount without new revenue in the mix.

"What we talked about was $1.1 trillion in cuts and savings," Van Hollen said today on "The Early Show" on CBS. "We did not get close to $2 trillion in cuts. And again, the gap there was closing these corporate tax loopholes."

Doesn't Get Easier

The conflicting accounts underscore the difficulty of reaching a speedy resolution, said Robert Bixby, executive director of the Arlington, Virginia-based Concord Coalition.

"It's not a simple matter of going back to what everybody agreed to in the Biden talks because everybody didn't agree to it," said Bixby. "It doesn't get any easier just to get a short-term deal."