House, Senate Republicans offer competing plans on debt-limit, government shutdown Later in the day, Senate Republicans put forward a plan that would reopen the government and raise the federal debt limit for as long as three months. Returning to the Capitol after an hour-long meeting with Obama at the White House, members of a 20-strong House Republican delegation described the session as a good first step. The White House denied a news report that Obama had rejected the House GOP's proposal outright, saying that "no specific determination was made" after Obama, Vice President Biden and top officials listened to the presentation. "The president looks forward to making continued progress with members on both sides of the aisle," the White House said in a statement. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the gathering was "a very useful meeting" and indicated that conversations would continue into the evening. "It was clarifying, I think, for both sides as to where we are," he said. "We put an offer on the table," Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, told reporters. Obama "didn't say yes; he didn't say no," Ryan said. We're continuing to negotiate this evening. Earlier, in a news briefing following a closed-door meeting of House Republicans to present a plan to raise the debt limit temporarily, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said, "What we want to do is offer the president today the ability to move a temporary increase in the debt ceiling." He described the offer as a "good-faith effort on our part to move halfway to what he's demanded in order to have these conversations begin." Obama is "happy" that House Republicans agree a federal debt default is not an option, but he would prefer a longer extension of the debt limit, White House spokesman Jay Carney said after the plan was disclosed. Boehner did not immediately tell reporters specifics of the plan. But the speaker made clear that House Republicans were not agreeing to Obama's demand that they pass legislation to fund the government without partisan riders, thereby ending the first government shutdown in 17 years. See the latest updates on the shutdown. In any case, Boehner's proposal fell flat in the Senate, where members of both parties were clamoring to end the shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), speaking to reporters after a White House meeting between Obama and Senate Democrats, said the shutdown must end and the debt ceiling must be raised ahead of negotiations with the Republicans, who he complained keep changing their demands.