Shutdown lowdown Day 14: The latest
(CNN) - While a Senate deal may be in the works, a key White House meeting is on hold. Still, government workers have received a reduced paycheck that reflects the furloughs, unemployment claims have skyrocketed, government-affiliated businesses are scrambling to stay afloat, states are dipping into their rainy-day funds. Oh, and markets are extremely nervous as the debt limit deadline is just three days away. Now, it’s getting serious.
Meanwhile in Washington, Republicans and Democrats have still not reached a final agreement.
Reid urges patience, remains optimistic over deal prospects
But top Senate leaders say they are optimistic.
Here’s what you need to know:
Up to speed
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his counterpart, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell appear closer to a deal. After a morning of negotiations, both Senate leaders expressed optimism that a deal is in the works. Reid called negotiations with McConnell “constructive,” adding that he’s “optimistic that we will reach an agreement.” McConnell said he “echo[s]” Reid’s remarks.
But until the hands shake, the clock keeps ticking.
Because momentum has increased, a meeting between President Obama and top House and Senate leaders was supposed to take place at the White House this afternoon has been postponed “to allow leaders in the Senate time to continue making important progress towards a solution.
While visiting a local charity in Washington, DC, Obama said “there's some progress on the Senate side."
Reid, President Barack Obama and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi continue to demand that any proposal reopen the government and lift the debt ceiling with no strings attached.
Meanwhile, Maine Republican Susan Collins, continues to work with a bipartisan group of Senators on a plan. The framework of her proposal would lift the debt ceiling until 2014, fund the government until March and postpone a tax on medical devices.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, who is part of the Collins group, sounded an optimistic tone Monday morning saying “we’re 70%, 80% there.” He said they have a template and leadership needs to finalize the details, including how much Congress is going to allocate to fund the government.
Wondering about what happened to President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, who appeared to be close to a deal last week? Those talks fell apart Saturday morning when the President rejected Boehner’s plan to lift the debt limit for only six weeks.
Washington could learn from baseball strike
National outlook
After a loss in U.S. stock futures Monday morning, Wall Street is feeling the optimism expressed in Washington on prospects of a deal.
The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq were all higher in afternoon trading.
U.S. Treasury markets are closed Monday because of Columbus Day.
Global outlook
Asian markets, which hold a high percentage of U.S. debt, are closed Monday. Again, Monday is a critical day for those markets as well.
European markets were mostly weaker in morning trading.
The top financial officials from around the world gathered in Washington over the weekend. And they were nervous about the U.S. inaction.
Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, said Saturday the consequences of a failure to raise the debt limit would be dire for economies around the world.
"You know, I've just spent the last two days with representatives of about 188 countries around the world. I wouldn't say they are confident. I would say they are concerned, and they are very anxious to see this crisis resolved, because they know it's going to impact on their economy," Lagarde told CNN’s Richard Quest at an Institute of International Finance conference in Washington.
Personal outlook
CNN’s Alison Kosik said that if the U.S. defaults on its debt, "A default interest rates for credit cards and student loans would spike as well and payments from the government would go up”
Number of the day
3 – At day 14, this is the third longest government shutdown in American history, according to a Democratic assessment.
Anger mounts
Protestors gathered Sunday at the World War II Memorial to protest its closure caused by the shutdown. Texas Senator Ted Cruz, whose demands to defund the president’s health care law was largely responsible for the shutdown, spoke at the event as did former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Cruz said the closure of the memorial was a political ploy.
The rally, billed as the "Million Vet March on the Memorials," drew far fewer than a million people and evolved into a protest that resembled familiar tea party events from 2009, with yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flags throughout the crowd and strong anti-Obama language from the podium and the audience. And one speaker said the President should “put the Quran down,” implying that Obama is Muslim.
States step up
The state of New York dug into its own coffers to reopen the Statue of Liberty. New York state will pay $61,600 a day over the next several days from its tourism budget. Cuomo determined that the financial commitment was well worth it because of the economic gain to New York the 10,000 daily tourists bring to the state and local businesses.
People visit Utah to ski and visit its national parks. Their closure was too much for the state, so the state government is stepping in and filling the federal government’s void. Utah has reopened eight national parks. It will pay the National Park Service up to $166,572 per day to do so.
Citizens step up
A local charity in Calvert County, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC is feeding the furloughed. Thirty percent of the county’s residents are government employees and the local group End Hunger in Calvert County is distributing food to furloughed workers at a local food bank.
Five good examples of citizens, philanthropies filling void of shutdown
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Look at who conservatives are. What greater disrespect can a person show to vets and our nation that fly the flag of the confederacy? Americans don't see slavery as anything we wish to return to. The outcome of the Civil War should be a lesson if who treason and rebellion turns out. Sherman did not have air support in his march to the sea.
My favorite conservative talking points:
Obama is a Muslim.
Obama attended a Christian Church for 15 years and the preacher is a poopiehead.
Sarah Palin (who attended 5 community colleges before she found one where she could buy her diploma) is perfectly ready to be President should something happen to that terrorist McCain; however Obama who graduated with honors from Harvard and served for 15 years as Constitutional Law Professor there, is not.
Ted Cruz, who was born in Canada is eligible to be President, though Obama, who was born in America is not.
The ACA, which passed through the process which has worked for Americans for well over 200 years and has survived review by a right wing leaning Supreme Court is unconstitutional because a small group of crybabies says it is.
Ronald Reagan is a conservative gawd, but now anyone who holds similar views to are RINO's and should be purged from the gop.
If a poll is for us, listen to the poll. If it is against us, it is because it is skewed by the Mainstream media.
America, party before country, and we will reconfirm that this is how we want our elected officials to act by voting them back into office again in the next election.
Prove me wrong America.
There is nothing else to negotiate. Republicans have the sequestration spending levels THEY want. They don't believe in growth. Their main goal is to cut the social safety net drastically if not completely.
Congress should lose some of its "power of the purse". In addition to its current duties, Treasury should tell Congress how much it can spend based on expected revenues, Congress then budgets programs using that amount. Treasury also decides the formula for paying down our debt and borrows as it sees fit – Congress no longer to have a say in borrowing or paying debts.
Does it bother anyone else that the Right now proudly marches under an enemy flag? Why doen't they just declare war and be done with it. At least then we could simply do away with them and be doen with these wretches.
Unfortunately Mike, even after 150 years the Confederacy is alive and well. 90% of the anti government movement is anti Obama and not because of his leadership, which has ended wars, killed Bin Laden, ended the recession, brought health care to the poor, disarmed Syrian chemicals weapons, opened relations with Iran, etc.,etc., but for one simple reason and we both know what that is. This President could end world hunger, complete nuclear disarmament and turn Al Qaeda into monks and the South would still want to impeach him. Spend some time in the deep South even today and look around.
Question why did the House rules committee change the rule that only the speaker or his designee could call for a vote?? This was done on September 30,2013.
I support the Tea party on this issue. Enough is enough!
@Anthony
Don't bother trying to explain things to tom I. He admits he reads the tea ba gger talking points every day to find out what he is supposed to think and say every morning. He thinks progressives do that too. He does not realize we are allowed and encouraged to think for ourselves on the left.
It is really sad....
Our out of pocket health care (Blue Cross) went from $650/month to $1,250/month between 2006 and 2011 (family of five). That was all BEFORE Obamacare began to be implemented. The system of private health insurance was already badly broken, and the ACA will fix it.
oreo
I support the Tea party on this issue. Enough is enough!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Translation: I HATE America! EOM
Dutch/Bad Newz, VA -aka- Take Back The House -aka- No Redemption Votes
There is nothing else to negotiate. Republicans have the sequestration spending levels THEY want. They don't believe in growth. Their main goal is to cut the social safety net drastically if not completely.
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The "social safety net" has become a hammock that was never designed to hold the numbers it currently is.
Palin and Cruz together?? You mean we can expect a sequel to "Dumb and Dumber" ???
@Carl
Leadership is not all about showing skills & statesmanship. What comes first is those who are to be lead, show willingness of: respect, listen, appreciate that person as their leader, then skills & statesmanship from the leader follows. If these are lacking first, no matter how skillful a person is, always leading will be a problem.
@RS,
"Why don't they just declare war and be done with it"
They have.
ObamaKare must be defunded. No compromise.
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a Sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. ...Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here'. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and Grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."
BHO
@tom i – "Just got the new healthcare options from my employer, the largest media company in the world. Guess what? It has changed dramatically" Then, that is the fault of your employer or their insurance carrier not the ACA.
LOL the tea party protesting the government shutdown. Hilarious.
GOP teaparty train wreck coming in 2014 midterm. Even their own braindead base of voters won't vote for these unpopular GOP losers, of coarse their still a few sane ones we will keep?? But not in Florida starting with Scott and radel !!!!!and the rest of the GOP teabum legislature in Florida !!!!!!
@Data
How much should a website cost to develop? This website is not overly complicated. I went this weekend to it to check it out again and I was able to get on with my third attempt. Do you think that 91 million (actually it cost more but we don't know exactly how much) is a lot? I find it to be obnoxious and typical of taking advantage of the govt by the company that developed the site. I won't harp on the bugs, of which there are/were many, but that number is outrageous. It's a freakin website.
@Richard Long
I didn't see you post that when Cheney said "Deficits don't matter" during the two unfunded, off the books, wars which took place while bush gave away trillions in tax cuts to his ultra rich base, who in tiurn had to be bailed be out because that just was wasn't enough for them... and still they argue it will somehow not work to tax the rich at much higner rates despite the fact it DID work for decades and led to the creation of our great middle class.
Read a history book, man....
CNN, whatever happened to cantor?
The Canadian born Cuban is headed for disaster but do keep reminding us why he should go back to his birth country.
-Fair is Fair
Dutch/Bad Newz, VA -aka- Take Back The House -aka- No Redemption Votes
There is nothing else to negotiate. Republicans have the sequestration spending levels THEY want. They don't believe in growth. Their main goal is to cut the social safety net drastically if not completely.
---
The "social safety net" has become a hammock that was never designed to hold the numbers it currently is.
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At the time it was devised, they also never envisioned the GOP deliberately trying to create another economic crisis, either. If the GOP is so hot on getting people back to work, they also need to realize that the ideal economy they want to create is one which gives people a chance at social mobility: the GOP has been quite content to play class, gender and racial warfare for the last 40 years in order to keep their voter base happy: well that voter base is shrinking, in no small part due to the deliberate policy of negligence they prefer to practice.