Obama willing to look at House Republicans' debt proposal: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama is willing to look at a proposal by congressional Republicans to extend the debt ceiling for six weeks but insists that lawmakers end the 10-day government shutdown as well, a White House official said on Thursday. The White House did not reject outright, but reacted cautiously, to a plan that House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner presented to fellow House Republicans ahead of a meeting they were to hold with Obama on Thursday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted Obama would not agree to negotiations over the debt limit, a primary goal of conservative House Republicans. "While we are willing to look at any proposal Congress puts forward to end these manufactured crises, we will not allow a faction of the Republicans in the House to hold the economy hostage to its extraneous and extreme political demands," the official said. "Congress needs to pass a clean debt limit increase and a funding bill to reopen the government." (Reporting by Steve Holland and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Vicki Allen)