President Obama met with House Republicans on Wednesday in a bid to resolve the ongoing standoff over a budget deal. Obama has sparked concern over his willingness to discuss cutting safety net programs with Republicans in a bid to cut spending. But on Wednesday, Obama appeared to directly reject Republicans’ stated priority of reducing spending to trim the deficit, reportedly telling them: “Our biggest problems in the next 10 years are not deficits.” The meeting followed the release of the Republicans’ 2014 budget by Congressmember Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Ryan’s plan would balance the budget in 10 years through major cuts to social programs, including the repeal of President Obama’s healthcare law. Speaking to ABC News, President Obama said his differences with Republicans may be too wide to reach a deal.

President Obama: “Ultimately, it may be that the differences are just too wide. If their position is 'We can't do any revenue,’ or 'We can only do revenue if we gut Medicare or gut Social Security or gut Medicaid,' if that’s the position, then we’re probably not going to be able to get a deal.”

Obama’s comments also came as Senate Democrats released their 2014 budget. The plan includes a proposal for a new economic stimulus of $100 billion to fund job training and the repair of roads and bridges.