They also agreed not to provoke a government shutdown, another traditional pressure point, as leverage to force Obama and Democrats to accept savings in benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

NPR: Gridlock: No Budging At The Budget-Cuts Deadline

Clinton's savings would come primarily from Medicare, defense and other domestic programs.

CNN: AllPolitics - A $1.69 Trillion Plan

Deficit reduction should focus on cutting government spending and must include savings from popular entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, Boehner insisted on Wednesday.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS