The Senate May Have A Debt Deal -- But Will The House Play Ball?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gradually pieced together the makings of an agreement Monday to avert default ahead of a Thursday debt limit deadline. The emerging deal, which is not yet finalized, would also restore funding for the federal government, which has been shuttered since Oct 1.

The big question is whether a bipartisan agreement from the Senate will give Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) the political cover he needs to pass the bill over the objections of conservatives in the House, who will put enormous pressure on Boehner to reject or amend it.

The Senate framework extends the debt ceiling until early February, funds the government through early January and establishes budget conference negotiations by mid-December, ahead of the next increase in the borrowing limit, according to top Senate aides familiar with the talks.

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The government would be funded at the current sequestration level of $986.3 billion, straddling GOP demands to sustain the lower spending caps for as long as possible and Democrats' demands not to lock them in permanently. The deal would provide new flexibility to government agencies when it comes to implementing the automatic spending cuts, and set up a battle over what to do about them during the next round of talks early in 2014.

The deal is unlikely to include a repeal or delay of Obamacare's medical device tax, which has repeatedly come up during the debate. But according to sources, it may require Obamacare enrollees to verify their income eligibility prior to receiving subsidies, which Republicans have pushed. And it may delay for one year a little-known reinsurance tax under the Affordable Care Act aimed at stabilizing premiums. It's a bipartisan carrot: Democrats support the idea because labor unions dislike the fee, and Republicans can claim they lopped off a damaging tax under Obamacare. Agreement on these two Obamacare-related items isn't final but they remain under discussion in the late stages of the negotiation.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/breakthrough-senate-reaches-deal-to-avert-default-but-will-house-follow

The problem with an evolving ransom note

By Steve Benen

The government has been shut down for two weeks, and at the earliest, the nation is facing a potentially catastrophic debt-ceiling deadline in three days. We know congressional Republicans expect Democrats to pay a ransom before they agree to complete these basic tasks, but can anyone, anywhere, state with confidence exactly what GOP officials are demanding? Indeed, isn't it inherently problematic that the Republicans' ransom note keeps evolving?

Yesterday, House Republicans started working on a new, short-term debt ceiling extension. It's ... creative.



It's worth emphasizing that the House really isn't trying to work towards a solution anymore and all of the action is in the Senate. That said, if the Senate process collapses, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) doesn't actually want a sovereign debt crisis, so his caucus is prepping a temporary bill to prevent default. Politico added, "The House GOP increase of the borrowing limit will not be 'clean.'"

Well, no, apparently not. The above image is based on reporting from National Review's Robert Costa, who first learned of the new laundry list. Let's take the bullets one at a time.

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And yet, despite all of this, the House Republicans' latest ransom note -- demanding Democratic concessions in exchange for nothing -- is actually more modest than their last one. With the House GOP, I suppose this is what passes for progress.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/10/14/20960363-the-problem-with-an-evolving-ransom-note