We are not there yet, but there's a hint of a deal that could extend the debt ceiling into next year and end a government shutdown that’s been in place for 14 days.
President Barack Obama’s meeting with congressional leaders on Monday was postponed, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., were said to be closing in on a deal.
The two leaders began speaking over the weekend and were scheduled to meet with the president at 3 p.m., along with their House counterparts. However, the White House said delaying the meeting will allow the men “time to continue making important progress towards a solution that raises the debt limit and reopens the government.”
Reid has said that he is “very optimistic” about the “good-faith negotiation,” while McConnell said he expects results that “will be acceptable by both sides."
Emerging details of the deal, though few, seem to have roots in a recently rejected plan crafted by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. That plan proposed to open the government and extend the debt ceiling, but with some concessions on Obamacare that included a repeal of the law’s medical device tax and income verification measures.
The possible deal, according to ABC News, would fund the government until Jan. 15 and increase the debt limit until about Feb. 15.
Debt Ceiling 2013: Senators Close To A Deal That Includes Ending Shutdown
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