WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama threw his support on Tuesday behind efforts by a bipartisan group of senators to negotiate a new deficit-reduction plan aimed at averting a looming debt default.

Obama said a proposal by the "Gang of Six" group of senators is broadly consistent with his approach on reducing debt and deficits and he urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to start "talking turkey" about it.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Steve Holland; Editing by Sandra Maler)