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Crisis concerns rising, House Republican leaders shrugged off a White House veto threat and an outbreak of tensions within their own party Wednesday as they built support for legislation to stave off the government default threatened for next week.

Despite his image as a button-down Republican, House Speaker John Boehner walked to the brink of a dramatic and historic agreement to change the government's spending habits.

Senate Democrats are telling Republicans controlling the House that there's no way they'll support a GOP plan to lift the federal debt limit that's emerging in the House.

House Speaker John Boehner says an estimate from congressional budget analysts shows the revised House Republican plan cuts the deficit by $22 billion in the first year.

Hospital associations, labor groups, tea party supporters and die-hard liberals are plunging into the debt battle between President Barack Obama and Congress as it whirls toward a final showdown.

A union representing state workers proposed changes to a government pension program on Wednesday that could require some employees to stay in their jobs longer before retiring.