Boehner, Pelosi Signal Flexibility to Get Deficit Cut Deal

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are signaling flexibility on taxes and entitlement cuts, two issues that have deadlocked the congressional supercommittee seeking at least $1.2 trillion in deficit savings by Nov. 23.

While Boehner derided a Democratic proposal to raise taxes by $1.3 trillion, the Ohio Republican didn’t rule out closing tax loopholes to raise revenue in exchange for a Democratic willingness to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid spending. Pelosi, a California Democrat, called for “balance” between taxes and spending cuts while not rejecting a proposal for measuring inflation that would mean smaller cost-of-living increases for Social Security recipients.