WASHINGTON (Reuters) – After months of talks, the high-profile congressional effort to rein in the ballooning U.S. debt is expected to end in failure on Monday with negotiators announcing they could not bridge deep divides over taxes and spending cuts to reach a deal.

The Republican and Democratic leaders of a 12-member congressional “super committee” are set to declare defeat in a joint statement later on Monday. They failed to find enough common ground on a package of at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over 10 years.

As the clock ticked down to a Monday deadline to publish the results of any deal, a small group of panel members gathered for a last-ditch effort to compromise. But several congressional aides who have worked closely with the panel said they had little hope of any progress.

The super committee members agreed.

“I wouldn’t be optimistic. I don’t want to create any false hope here,” Republican Senator Jon Kyl told Fox News. He said the panel would release a statement by the end of the day.

Failure to reach a deal on deficit reduction would trigger $1.2 trillion in cuts over the next decade, beginning in 2013.

The deadlock focuses on Republican opposition to tax increases, particularly on the wealthiest Americans, and Democratic refusal to cut into federal retirement and healthcare benefits without such tax increases.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Washington’s most ambitious effort in years to come to grips with its mounting debt is set to end with a whimper on Monday as negotiators plan to announce they have failed to reach a deal.

The Republican and Democratic leaders of a 12-member congressional “super committee” are set to declare defeat in a joint statement to be released after three months of talks failed to bridge deep divides over taxes and spending.

Super committee members said they are still talking, but they were not hopeful of a deal.

“I wouldn’t be optimistic. I don’t want to create any false hope here,” Republican Senator Jon Kyl said on Fox News. He said the panel would release a statement by the end of the day.

After a year of bruising budget battles, failure by the super committee is another sign that U.S. lawmakers are too entrenched to compromise on the tax increases and benefit cuts that budget experts say are needed to set the country’s finances on a stable path.

The failure will cement notions of a dysfunctional Washington among voters and investors already disenchanted with the brinkmanship that brought the country to the edge of a first-ever debt default in August.

Lawmakers likely will not return to the problem until 2013 at the earliest as they shift their attention to the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

WASHINGTON, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Washington’s most ambitious effort in years to come to grips with its mounting debt is set to end with a whimper on Monday as negotiators plan to announce they have failed to reach a deal.

The Republican and Democratic leaders of a 12-member congressional “super committee” are set to declare defeat in a joint statement to be released after three months of talks failed to bridge deep divides over taxes and spending.

After a year of bruising budget battles, it is another sign that U.S. lawmakers are too entrenched to compromise on the tax increases and benefit cuts that budget experts say are needed to set the country’s finances on a stable path.

The panel’s failure will cement notions of a dysfunctional Washington among voters and investors already disenchanted with the brinkmanship that brought the country to the edge of a first-ever debt default in August.

Lawmakers likely will not return to the problem until 2013 at the earliest as they shift their attention to the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

Budget skirmishes will continue over the coming months.

Democrats will try to extend short-term economic stimulus measures, such as enhanced unemployment benefits and a payroll tax cut, that they had hoped to roll in to any super committee deal. Analysts say the economy could slide back toward recession if they expire as planned at the end of the year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A congressional “super committee” is expected to formally announce on Monday that its three-month-long effort to forge a $1.2 trillion deficit reduction plan has failed, aides told Reuters.

Barring an unforeseen development, the Republican and Democratic heads of a 12-member “super committee” will issue a joint statement conceding failure, the aides said.

Failure has been expected for most of the weekend, and market reaction may be muted as investors focus on the euro zone debt crisis. U.S. stock index futures opened lower on Sunday as trading began in Asia, with Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures briefly dropping more than 1 percent.

Failure by the committee of six Republicans and six Democrats could cement notions of a dysfunctional Washington among voters and investors.

“Congress is missing the opportunity to provide a credible plan to the markets,” said Paul Ballew, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance. “About the last thing we need is more uncertainty.”

Congress has rock-bottom approval ratings after a year of budget fights pushed the government to the brink of a shutdown and led to the first-ever downgrade of its AAA credit rating by Standard & Poor’s.

Automatic spending cuts totaling $1.2 trillion, falling equally on the military and domestic programs, will kick in starting in 2013 to ensure the United States takes some steps toward reining in its spiraling debt.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A months-long effort to set U.S. finances on a sustainable course appeared likely to end in failure on Monday as lawmakers in Congress were unable to bridge a deep divide over taxes and benefits.

Republican and Democratic participants cast doubt on any possibility of agreement in appearances on Sunday talk shows. Without some unexpected breakthrough, aides said, a 12-member bipartisan “super committee” tasked with drawing up a deficit-cutting plan will admit defeat on Monday.

Some of the panel members pointed fingers on Sunday as the clock ticked toward an imminent deadline. The committee must vote on any deal by Wednesday, but Monday is the deadline to have legislation written and presented to the entire committee.

“Nobody wants to give up hope. Reality is, to some extent, starting to overtake hope,” Representative Jeb Hensarling, the panel’s Republican co-chairman, said on “Fox News Sunday.”

President Barack Obama, a Democrat seeking re-election in November 2012, has avoided direct involvement in the talks after making his recommendations in September.

But a White House spokeswoman urged the panel to make the “tough choices” to find at least $1.2 trillion in budget savings over 10 years.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, neither Republican Senator Jon Kyl nor Democratic Senator John Kerry gave any sign that a deal was near as they reiterated their parties’ positions and blamed the other side for gridlock.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of a congressional deficit-reduction committee voiced little hope on Sunday with no sign of a breakthrough as they headed toward a widely anticipated failure this week in their bid to cut a deal to reduce the U.S. deficit.

Lawmakers on the bipartisan 12-member “super committee” said they are not giving up ahead of a looming Wednesday deadline. But they appeared to be stepping up their blame game in the event they do not reach an agreement.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, neither Republican Senator Jon Kyl nor Democratic Senator John Kerry gave any indication a deal was near. They stuck to their parties’ entrenched positions and blamed the other side for the deadlock.

Their comments and demeanor underscored the unlikelihood of a deal as the clock ticks down toward the Wednesday midnight deadline for the panel to vote on a package of at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade.

If the two sides do not reach a deal, automatic spending cuts of $1.2 trillion over a decade are due to start in 2013.

The deadlock focuses on Republican opposition to tax increases, particularly on the wealthiest Americans, and Democratic refusal to cut into federal retirement and healthcare benefits without such tax increases.

“I say to my Republican colleagues: we are here all day. We are ready to do $1.2 trillion, not less than it. That’s what we were told to do. That’s the law,” said Kerry, after accusing Kyl of not telling the truth about the talks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of a congressional deficit-reduction committee voiced little hope on Sunday with no sign of a breakthrough as they headed toward a widely anticipated failure this week in their bid to cut a deal to reduce the U.S. deficit.

Lawmakers on the bipartisan 12-member “super committee” said they are not giving up ahead of a looming Wednesday deadline. But they appeared to be stepping up their blame game in the event they do not reach an agreement.

On NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, neither Republican Senator Jon Kyl nor Democratic Senator John Kerry gave any indication a deal was near. They stuck to their parties’ entrenched positions and blamed the other side for the deadlock.

Their comments and demeanor underscored the unlikelihood of a deal as the clock ticks down toward the Wednesday midnight deadline for the panel to vote on a package of at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade.

If the two sides do not reach a deal, automatic spending cuts of $1.2 trillion over a decade are due to start in 2013.

The deadlock focuses on Republican opposition to tax increases, particularly on the wealthiest Americans, and Democratic refusal to cut into federal retirement and healthcare benefits without such tax increases.

“I say to my Republican colleagues: we are here all day. We are ready to do $1.2 trillion, not less than it. That’s what we were told to do. That’s the law,” said Kerry, after accusing Kyl of not telling the truth about the talks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Nearly 140 millionaires asked a divided U.S. Congress on Wednesday to increase their taxes for the sake of the nation.

“Please do the right thing,” the entrepreneurs and business leaders wrote President Barack Obama and congressional leaders, noting that they benefited from a sound economy and now want others to do so. “Raise our taxes.”

The letter was signed by 138 members of “Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength.” The group was created a year ago during a failed bid to persuade Congress to end tax cuts for millionaires enacted under Republican former President George W. Bush.

The group is now making the same request of a 12-member congressional “super committee,” which is struggling to reach a bipartisan deal to cut the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade in order to help put the nation on sound financial footing.

Obama and his fellow Democrats have been pushing for increased taxes to help do it. But Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have said no, arguing that tax rises on the wealthy would kill jobs.

“Patriotic Millionaires” reject such thinking.

Eric Schoenberg, chairman of CampusWorks, Inc, a higher education technology company, said if Congress ended Bush-era tax cuts it would affect him and his fellow millionaires in the group “about as much as a dead fly interrupts a picnic.”

WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Nearly 140 millionaires asked a divided U.S. Congress on Wednesday to increase their taxes for the sake of the nation.

“Please do the right thing,” the entrepreneurs and business leaders wrote President Barack Obama and congressional leaders, noting that they benefited from a sound economy and now want others to do so. “Raise our taxes.”

The letter was signed by 138 members of “Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength.” The group was created a year ago during a failed bid to persuade Congress to end tax cuts for millionaires enacted under Republican former President George W. Bush.

The group is now making the same request of a 12-member congressional “super committee,” which is struggling to reach a bipartisan deal to cut the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade in order to help put the nation on sound financial footing.

Obama and his fellow Democrats have been pushing for increased taxes to help do it. But Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, have said no, arguing that tax rises on the wealthy would kill jobs.

“Patriotic Millionaires” reject such thinking.

Eric Schoenberg, chairman of CampusWorks, Inc, a higher education technology company, said if Congress ended Bush-era tax cuts it would affect him and his fellow millionaires in the group “about as much as a dead fly interrupts a picnic.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers might opt to postpone tough tax decisions until next year as they struggle to forge a deficit-reduction deal over the coming week, congressional aides said on Monday.

With time running short, the “super committee” of six Democrats and six Republicans could agree to some spending cuts and instruct their fellow lawmakers to raise more tax revenue by retooling the byzantine tax code next year, aides said.

That could allow the panel to reach a deal by its November 23 deadline and temporarily resolve a budget battle that has dominated Washington for most of this year. But it would push the tax question well into the 2012 election season, when partisan tensions will be running even higher than usual.

The idea has been talked about for months as a possibility and is being looked at more closely as little progress is evident as the deadline approaches.

Republican Representative Jeb Hensarling on Sunday talked about a possible “two-step approach” on a Sunday talk show.

A senior Democratic aide said on Monday: “It is being discussed. That is clear.”

Another option under discussion is a deal that would lead to more tax revenue now, the aide said.