Report: No Agreement on Paying the Bills or Government Shutdown

From the NY Times: Obama Rejects G.O.P. Offer of Short-Term Debt Limit Plan

President Obama on Thursday rejected a proposal from politically besieged House Republican leaders to extend the nation’s borrowing authority for six weeks because it would not also reopen the government. Yet both parties saw it as the first break in Republicans’ brinkmanship and a step toward a fiscal truce.

Twenty Republicans, led by Speaker John A. Boehner, went to the White House at Mr. Obama’s invitation after a day of fine-tuning their offer to increase the Treasury Department’s authority to borrow money to pay existing obligations through Nov. 22. In exchange, they sought the president’s commitment to negotiate a deal for long-term deficit reduction and a tax overhaul.

Mr. Boehner and his colleagues left after about an hour and a half without speaking to waiting reporters.

The Republican proposal could come to a vote as soon as Friday. But the White House and Congressional Democrats remained skeptical that House Republican leaders could pass the proposal. A large faction of Tea Party conservatives campaigned on promises never to vote to increase the nation’s debt limit, and say they do not believe the warnings — including from Republican business allies — that failing to act could provoke a default and economic chaos globally. And House Democrats vowed not to support the proposal without a companion measure to fully fund a government now shuttered for 10 days.

Arriving back at the Capitol, the House Republicans huddled in Mr. Boehner’s office for further discussion.

“We had a very useful meeting, and we expect further conversations tonight,” said Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the majority leader.

It is hard to believe anyone thinks the government doesn't have to pay-the-bills. Those members of Congress are clearly ignorant. Otherwise this sounds like slow progress ...