White House says debt ceiling deal cannot be tied to budget talks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House said a Republican proposal that would lift the debt ceiling but link that with budget negotiations would not be acceptable because it could again put the country on the verge of default in six weeks, spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Friday. "A debt ceiling increase at only six weeks tied to budget negotiations would put us right back where we are today in just six weeks, on the verge of Thanksgiving and the obviously important shopping season leading up to the holidays," Carney said. "We should not link the threat of default to budget negotiations," Carney said. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton, Jeff Mason and Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Eric Beech)