McConnell's plan drew a backlash from conservatives -- former House Speaker and Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich, in a posting on Twitter, called it "an irresponsible surrender" -- and it wasn't clear whether it could pass the U.S. House.

"I don't know that," Speaker John Boehner told Fox News, according to a release from the network. "Senator McConnell said it's a last-ditch backup plan. When we get here a couple weeks from now, we may be looking for all kinds of ideas."

Orrin Hatch of Utah, the Senate Finance Committee's top Republican, suggested today that he opposes McConnell's plan.

"I'm personally for cut, cap and balance," Hatch said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "We should cut spending," cap it to the 2008 level and pass a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. "If we don't do that, these people will continue to spend us blind," Hatch said.

'Work With Him'

White House press secretary Jay Carney called McConnell's remarks on the Senate floor criticizing Obama's commitment to reining in the debt "unfortunate," saying, "This president is going to be in office for at least another 18 months, and I think that the American people expect Congress to work with him."

Obama and congressional leaders met yesterday for almost two hours at the White House yesterday, the third day in a row of deficit negotiations. Officials from both parties said there was little progress toward resolving differences between Republicans, who oppose any tax increases, and Democrats, who won't agree to cuts in Social Security or Medicare benefits without additional tax revenue. They are scheduled to meet again today at 4 p.m.

Both the White House and House Republican leaders avoided embracing or rejecting McConnell's debt-limit proposal.

Lack Of Movement

Carney said the idea "reaffirmed what leaders of both parties have stated clearly, that defaulting on America's past due bills is not an option." He added that Obama is focused on "seizing this unique opportunity to come to agreement on significant, balanced deficit reduction."

Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said in the Fox News interview that "there are other ideas out there."