WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Having said no to taxes for months, Republicans now are saying maybe, in the face of public disgust over a deadlock in the Congress, a near government default and a worsening global economic crisis.

Prompting some hope for a return to fiscal order are the statements and reputations of some of the six Republicans named this week to join with six Democrats on a special committee to end the standoff over the U.S. deficit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A leading Republican lawmaker would not rule out tax increases on Thursday if they fostered economic growth, adding that “everything is on the table” for a U.S. congressional panel charged with forging a deal to cut the deficit.

Representative Dave Camp, head of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives, told Reuters in a telephone interview that the deepening global financial crisis would prompt him and other “super committee” members to pull together.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats named three loyal party lieutenants to a deficit reduction “super committee” on Thursday, charting what could be a path to partisan deadlock with all 12 members now appointed.

Representatives Chris Van Hollen, Xavier Becerra and James Clyburn — all veterans drawn from leadership — were appointed by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

WASHINGTON, Aug 11 (Reuters) – Democrats named three loyal
party lieutenants to a U.S. deficit reduction “super committee”
on Thursday, charting what could be a path to partisan deadlock
with all 12 members now appointed.

Representatives Chris Van Hollen, Xavier Becerra and James
Clyburn — all veterans drawn from leadership — were appointed
by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A leading Republican lawmaker would not rule out tax increases on Thursday if they could boost economic growth, adding that “everything is on the table” for a congressional panel charged with forging a deal to cut the deficit.

Representative Dave Camp, head of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee in the House of Representatives, told Reuters in a telephone interview that the deepening global financial crisis would prompt him and other super committee members to pull together.

WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Republicans named their six
members on Wednesday to a U.S. congressional deficit-reduction
super committee, including a favorite of the conservative Tea
Party movement and other no-new-taxes hardliners.

In a move that could deadlock the 12-member panel over
taxes, but perhaps set the stage for changes later, Senate
Republican Leader Mitch McConnell named Tea Party ally Patrick
Toomey to the panel with Jon Kyl and Rob Portman.

WASHINGTON, Aug 10 (Reuters) – Republicans named six
members on Wednesday to a U.S. congressional deficit-reduction
super committee that was set up to seek bipartisan agreement on
taxes and government spending.

The panel is known as the Joint Select Committee on Deficit
Reduction and was established to find $1.5 trillion in
additional budget savings over 10 years, but markets have been
looking for signs that it may be able to do even more.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Congress buried the specter of a debt default by finally passing a deficit-cutting package on Tuesday, but the shadow lingered of a possible painful downgrade of the top-notch American credit rating.

Just hours before the Treasury’s authority to borrow funds ran out, the Senate voted 74 to 26 to pass a hard-won compromise to lift the government’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling enough to last beyond the November 2012 elections.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House and congressional leaders scrambled for enough support from skeptical lawmakers on Monday to push through an 11th-hour deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avert a devastating debt default.

Just one day before the deadline to lift the nation’s debt ceiling, the Democratic-led Senate appeared on track to pass the $2.1 trillion deficit-cutting plan on Monday or Tuesday.