Senate leaders are closing in on a deal to reopen the government and extend the U.S. debt ceiling until next year, marking a major breakthrough in an impasse that has paralyzed Washington for the last two weeks, according to several sources familiar with the talks.
In a furious round of last-ditch negotiations, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were discussing a proposal to reopen the government until Jan. 15 and raise the national debt limit until Feb. 15. Several people familiar with the matter expected that a deal could be announced Monday, though its prospects in the GOP-led House are far from certain.
After meeting twice Monday, Reid and McConnell both were hopeful a deal would reached.
”I’m very optimistic that we will reach an agreement that’s reasonable in nature this week to reopen the government, pay the nation’s bills and begin long term negotiations to put our country on sound fiscal footing,” Reid said on the floor.
McConnell said he was also optimistic that “we’re going to get a result that will be acceptable to both sides.”
In a sign a deal was taking shape, President Barack Obama delayed a Monday meeting at the White House with the congressional leaders to give Reid and McConnell more time to finalize an accord. A Senate Republican source said Republicans are likely to hold a party caucus to go over the negotiations sometime this afternoon or evening.
The plan under consideration would require larger bicameral budget negotiations to conclude by Dec. 15, sources said. Moreover, Senate Democrats are open to a requirement that those receiving Obamacare subsidies be subject to income verification. But it appears that the fight over delaying Obamacare’s medical device tax is still a point of contention with Democrats objecting to its inclusion in the package, sources said.
If sequestration were to continue in 2014, the proposal would give federal agencies more discretion to implement the across-the-board cuts.
Under the plan, the government would be funded at $986 billion until Jan. 15, the same day that a $21 billion across-the-board sequestration cut is slated to take place. Indeed, by aligning the government funding fight with the date that the next sequester is supposed to hit, it all but ensures a heated fight over whether to continue the unpopular cuts in the new year. Doing so would lower 2014 funding levels to $967 billion, a level far too low for many Democrats.
And by extending the debt ceiling until the beginning of next year, it would put the issue in the center of the heated 2014 midterm elections.
McConnell reviewed the offer Monday as he privately huddled with groups of GOP senators Monday who could be key to providing enough votes in the Senate. On Monday morning, McConnell met with Sens. John McCain of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mike Johanns of Nebraska and Mark Kirk of Illinois.
“We’re engaged in good-faith negotiations,” said Don Stewart, McConnell’s spokesman. “Those talks will continue.”
House Republican leadership has been inclose touch with McConnell throughout his negotiations with Reid, but there was growing concern that a six-to-nine month debt ceiling would not be good enough for the House GOP. This proposal would be easier for Boehner - but aides say he still could amend it.
Source : http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/government-shutdown-debt-ceiling-default-update-98260.html
