Congressional leaders from both parties said a warning by Moody’s Investors Service that it may put the U.S. government’s debt rating on review for a downgrade is an alert to reduce the deficit and raise the debt ceiling, Bloomberg reported.

Each side said it has no intention of letting the government default on its obligations. Still, neither Democrats nor Republicans budged from their public positions in the dispute over the government’s finances, complicating the path to a deal, Bloomberg said.

House Democrats emerged from a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House insisting that tax increases be part of any deficit-cutting package, a condition  Republicans reject. The Democrats also continued to resist Republican proposals for cuts in the Medicare and Medicaid government health programs.

The urgency to reach agreement increased Thursday after Moody’s said it may put the U.S. government’s debt rating on review for a downgrade if no progress is made on raising the debt limit by mid-July.

“We’re going to get this done,” Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House’s second-ranking Democrat, told reporters after the meeting with Obama. “The markets ought to know we’re going to get this done.”

Democrats want to bring down the deficit and debt while “making sure Medicare is strengthened and preserved for seniors,” Hoyer said.

In its statement, New York-based Moody’s said: “The heightened polarization over the debt limit has increased the odds of a short-lived default. If this situation remains unchanged in coming weeks, Moody’s will place the rating under review.”