Overnight News Digest: Let's Make a Deal Edition

Welcome to the Overnight News Digest with a crew consisting of founder Magnifico, current leader Neon Vincent, regular editors side pocket, maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, rfall, and JML9999. Alumni editors include (but not limited to) palantir, Patriot Daily News Clearinghouse, ek hornbeck, ScottyUrb, Interceptor7, BentLiberal, Oke and jlms qkw. The guest editor is annetteboardman.

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• Senators close in on deal as threat of default nears

Reuters
 

U.S. senators said they were closing in on a deal Monday that would reopen the government and push back a possible default for several months, though many hurdles remained as a Thursday deadline drew near.

The Senate's top Democrat and top Republican both said they hoped they could soon reach an agreement that would allow them to avert a looming default and end a partial government shutdown that has dragged on for 14 days so far.

"I'm very optimistic that we that we will reach an agreement that's reasonable in nature this week," Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on the Senate floor.

Lawmakers are racing against the clock, with U.S. officials estimating that the federal government could run out of borrowing capacity on October 17.

The plan under discussion would raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by enough to cover the nation's borrowing needs at least through mid-February 2014, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.

• Senate leaders close in on debt ceiling deal after lengthy talks on Capitol Hill

The Guardian
 

Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate were scrambling towards a deal that would avert the looming crisis over the US debt ceiling, as the threat of failure to reach an agreement finally appeared to have concentrated minds in Washington.

Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority and minority leaders, held two lengthy meetings on Monday in an attempt to nail down terms of a possible compromise. The urgency of the talks was matched by the scale of the crisis facing them: unless an agreement is reached on raising America’s borrowing limit by midnight on Thursday, the US will begin to default on its payments, with possible global economic ramifications.

Obama postponed a 3pm White House gathering of congressional leaders to give McConnell and Reid extra time to fine-tune a package.

• Reid And McConnell Cite 'Progress' As Default Deadline Looms

NPR
 

The House and Senate were in session on Columbus Day, the 14th day of the federal government shutdown. A meeting that had been arranged between President Obama, Vice President Biden and the four main leaders of Congress was postponed, as the White House cited the progress being made in negotiations.

The latest word of a possible deal calls for raising the federal debt limit through Feb. 15 and funding a return to work for the government through Jan. 15. We'll update this post as more news comes in.

Over the weekend, senators from both parties assumed key roles in the negotiations, after House Republicans and the White House failed to reach an agreement.

Update at 6:10 p.m. ET: Reid Sees 'Tremendous Progress'

"We know this has been a difficult time for everyone," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said of the budget debate, adding that he and Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell have been working toward a solution.

Reid said there would be no Senate votes on a possible deal Monday night.

"We've made tremendous progress. We're not there yet," Reid said. "But tremendous progress. And everyone just needs to be patient."

"We've had a good day," McConnell said, speaking in turns with Reid. "I think it's safe to say we've made substantial progress."

• Senate Leaders Cite Substantial Progress on Debt-Cap Deal

Bloomberg News
 

Senate Democratic and Republican leaders said they made significant progress toward an accord that would end a partial government shutdown and prevent the nation from breaching the U.S. debt ceiling in three days.

The emerging agreement would suspend the debt limit through Feb. 7, 2014, fund the government through Jan. 15 and require a House-Senate budget conference by Dec. 13, according to a Senate source familiar with the talks, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss them.

“We’ve made tremendous progress,” Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said as the Senate adjourned today. “We are not there yet.”
Reid said he hoped a deal could be announced tomorrow. His Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said “substantial progress” had been made during the talks.

The movement toward working out a deal in the Senate marked the strongest signals yet that Congress may be able to prevent the U.S. from missing scheduled payments as soon as this month and end the partial shutdown that started Oct. 1.