Govt Shutdown - Day 11 - Update as of Friday Morning October 11, 2013

Day 11--No Deal at White House, but Both Sides Will Keep Talking

 After the House GOP leadership met with the President yesterday negotiators worked to find a deal. A few noteworthy quotes sums up the result:

·        “He [President Obama] didn’t say yes, he didn’t say no. We’re going to continue negotiating this evening,” said House Budget Chairman Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., after the Thursday meeting with President Obama.

·       The Ryan plan did not include a CR, but House Armed Services Chairman Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., said adding one to the package is “one of the things we’re talking about.”

·         Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers, R-Ky., indicated that the President said he wanted the government reopened. “What we’re trying to do is find a way to quickly settle the CR crisis so that we can pass a CR and stop the shutdown,” he said. 

·         Speaker John A. Boehner said in a statement, “No final decisions were made; however, it was a useful and productive conservation. The president and leaders agreed that communication should continue throughout the night.”

 At the same time GOP Senators, led by Appropriations member Susan Collins (R-Maine), worked on a package to reopen the federal government and raise the debt ceiling.  Items in the package could include:

 

Ø  raising the debt limit,

Ø  flexibility to deal with the sequestration during the next two years,

Ørepealing or delaying the 2.3 percent medical device tax under the ACA. The pay for would come from “pension smoothing,” a strategy that would allow private businesses to lower their pension contributions in the near future in exchange for higher payments down the line.

Ø  Income verification for those receiving benefits under the health care law.

Sens. John McCain and John Cornyn, R-Texas voiced support that they are hopeful the Collins solution will lead the way out of the fiscal mess.

Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are sticking to their position no negotiations until after the government is reopened and the debt ceiling is raised.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., filed cloture on the motion to proceed to a bill (S 1569) that would suspend the debt limit until Dec. 31, 2014, setting up a Saturday cloture vote.

The House was not originally scheduled to be session next week. Congressional leaders informed Members last night that they must stay in DC as the Oct 17th debt ceiling deadline draws closer.

 

To be continued .....