struggling with the idea of passing what is in front of them versus what is really their principle, and that really sums up the issue, probably why we are where we are and have been for a couple of weeks. >> i don't know how they have time to read it they're coming out so fast. excellent work in grabbing the congressman. thank you for that. i'm flat out of time. our coverage continues right after the break with "around the world." world." thanks for watching. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting today in washington. you're taking a look at what may be the center of the universe right now. take a look at these pictures. capitol hill after weeks of stand still and stalemate, there are now suddenly two plans to end the crisis over the partial government shutdown. the debt ceiling extension. we're now only 36 hours away from that moment when we officially, according to the

treasury department, hit that debt limit. without a deal, the u.s. government won't be able to borrow enough money to pay all the bills we've already racked up. the senate has been working on a framework for a deal since the weekend. and this morning, the house revealed its own competing plan. the white house just released a statement rejecting the house proposal, but the house speaker says he's still optimistic that lawmakers eventually will find a way out of this mess before the default deadline. >> our leadership team met with our members today trying to find a way forward in a bipartisan way that would continue to provide fairness to the american people under obama care. there are a lot of opinions about what direction to go. there have been no decisions about what exactly we do. but we're going to continue to work with our members on both sides of the aisle to try to make sure that there's no issue of default and to get our government reopened.

>> so there's action on the house side. there's also action on the senate side. senator marco rubio of florida speaking on the senate floor right now. let's listen in. >> enrichment capability and that now is not the time to suspend pend sanctions but to increase them on the iranian regime. you see, all of us would like to wake up to the news that the ayatollah. >> senator rubio is speaking about iran right now. we'll monitor what he's saying, see if he says anything about the senate proposal, a bipartisan proposal to deal with this debt ceiling and get the government fully operational. senator rubio speaking there. we'll check in with him later. the house speaker is rather upbeat about his own plan, but the democratic minority leader, nancy pelosi, isn't feeling quite as good about it. moments ago she said the house republicans are sabotaging the senate's efforts to end the crisis. >> so why are they doing this to the american people? sabotaging a good faith bipartisan effort coming out of

the senate? wasting the public's time and in this case, time is money. time is money. this is going to be very costly to our economy, even if eventually we do lift the debt ceiling, the cost in interest payments will be in the billions of dollars. this republican sabotaging of any effort to move forward is a luxury our country cannot afford. >> strong words from nancy pelosi. let me show you exactly what's in the potential senate deal to end the stalemate. it would reopen the government, keep it running through mid-january. the debt ceiling would be extended till early february. there could be some slight changes to obama care but nothing near what some conservative republicans have been pushing for. those possible tweaks include new income verification requirements for people seeking health care you be sids and getting the transitional

reinsurance fee which would cost employers about $65 per employee per year for three years. relatively modest tweaks to obama care. let me tell you also about the house plan apparently that is on the table. about two hours or so ago, lawmakers there announced they have their own bill. it would include most of what is in the senate agreement and add a two-year suspension on the tax on medical devices that that tax helps fund obama care. the plan won also remove federal health care subsidies for president obama, members of congress and the cabinet and their staffs. in other words, if they want obama care, they would have to pay for it for themselves. and it would for bid the treasury department from taking so-called extraordinary measures to prevent the government from defaulting. so let me bring in our a team to help us explain what's going on right now. dana bash is up on capitol hill, jim acosta is at the white

house. the house speaker says he's optimistic the country will not default, dana. there will eventually be some legislation. there are clearly some major sticking points. >> major sticking points? he might be optimistic about the country not defaulting but he's certainly, according to many.house republicans is not optimistic he can be pass his own plan right now. that is the development in the last hour that this plan that house republican sources told us about earlier this morning was presented in a house meeting which went very long. the reason we now know it went so long and the house speaker and other leaders weren't more aggressive in describing that plan before cameras in the last hour is because they are struggling to find the votes within their own enparty. and the reason they're struggling is because i'm told that there was that core bloc of conservative members who have been really pushing to you know, go for broke, go all or nothing. that bloc who is working sort of

hand in glove with senator ted cruz of texas in the senate who the again is pushing principle over everything else. they really push back i'm told inside this private meeting to house republican leaders, said they didn't like this. now what's going on is the house is actually coming into session. but there have been meetings going on trying to figure out if they can salvage this plan and how to do that. one idea i'm told is the concept of one of the provisions of this house plan, wolf, was to take away any federal subsidy for members of congress and the cabinet and the president i should say that they get to help pay for their health care. staff, congressional staff was nod included. what i was told is one thing that could placate conservatives is to include staff. that would mean somebody who, would for a member of congress who is a federal employee just like all other federal employees across the country, they would

be -- their money for their health care would be taken away. so they would be actually treated differently than other federal employees. unclear if that's how things will pan out. that is among the discussions that house republican leaders are having right now with conservatives to salvage the votes from within their own caucus for their own plan that they just announced this morning which was supposes to be the beginning of the end of this saga. >> the beginning of the end? it's continuing and continuing and continuing, dana, stand by for a moment. let's go to the white house and get reaction to this latest decision by the house republican leadership. jim acosta is standing by. what are they saying about these latest ideas coming forward from the house republican leadership? >> wolf, the only way you could read the reaction from white house spokeswoman amy brunn and to this house republican plan is dead on arrival. let me just read to you a quote from a statement released by the white house spokeswoman bruj damage in the last hour "the president has said repeatedly members of congress don't get to

demand ran some to pass a budget and pay the nation's bills. you be fortunately is latest proposal from house conditions does just that. in a partisan attempt to the apiece a small group of tea party republican who's forced the government to shutdown in the first place. it could not be more strongly worded than that." obviously the white house has major issues with the anti-obama care provisions tucked into the house proposal. note the juxtaposition. yed when the president was at the food shelter in the washington wag he talked about how if the republicans don't stop playing games we stand a good chance of defaulting. almost in the same breath, he said the senate is making progress. there's progress being made over in the senate and he almost brought all the leaders over to the white house yesterday presumably to talk about that plan. that is in essence, i don't want to say it's a complete blessing of the senate plan but a strong indication from the president that he strongly prefers what is

c coming out of the senate right now. a white house official said they believe the bipartisan framework out of the senate is the preferred choice. the way they feel at the white house is therous of representatives had its chance and it's blown it. wolf? >> so the white house press secretary jay karn scheduled at the bottom of this hour in about 20 minutes or so for a news conference. i assume it's still taking place. based on the latest information, still taking place. we'll hear officially what the white house thinks about all of this. >> it has not been canceled. as you saw last friday, that white house press briefing drifted from early in the afternoon to after the market closed at 4:00 p.m. i'm not saying that's what's going to happen today. but it is not always set in stone when this white house press briefing starts. i know that's probably the understatement of the year. my white house colleagues will probably needle me for saying that one. but these things don't always start on time. here's the thing that is i think

very much the crux of the issue here. the crux of the issue is can the white house, can president obama sign anything into law that reopens the government and raises the nation's debt ceiling that has some kind of provisioning in there that tinkers or toys with obama care? it may not be critical to that will law and the way it operates and the way it covers millions of americans and requires people to buy insurance and those major pillars of the law, but you know, can the additional requirements to prove that you're eligible for those subsidiy ies and obama care, ca that fly? it's not critical to the heart of the law. that sort of thing could fly with this president. that is one of the major questions to jay carney if and when that briefing starts, wolf. >> we'll see how long it's delayed if it's delayed. we'll have live coverage here on cnn. jim, thanks very much. we're waiting for jay carney. we'll get reaction from the white house. you're looking at live pictures from the briefing room in the

west wing. once he starts answering reporters' questions, we'll bring it to you live right here in the "cnn newsroom." many steps remain before it becomes law. what happens next? here are five things to look for right now. any deal passed by the senate or house has to be adopted by the other chamber without any changes. if their bills are different, the house and senate will the conference to create a unified bill. then there would be further debate procedural votes and amendments in the senate. it would need at least 60 votes to overcome any filibusters. after a unified bill has passed in both chambers, it would then go to president obama for his signature. if he likes it, he signs it. he could veto it and then the process begins all over again. just ahead here in the "newsroom," we've been hearing about the so-called progress here in washington, but is wall street buying any of it? taking a closer look at the markets for a reality check of

your money. plus, the tough decisions for john boehner. he's under intense pressure from all sides. we're taking a closer look at some of his options, that's coming up, as well. [old english accent] i doth declare that thou have brought overmany discounts to thine customers! [old english accent] safe driver, multi-car, paid in full -- a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jamie. i we have some to spare. oh, you have any of those homeowners discounts? here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kingdom. more discounts than we knoweth what to do with. now that's progressive. ♪ hooking up the country whelping business run ♪ ♪ trains! they haul everything, safely and on time. ♪ tracks! they connect the factories built along the lines. and that means jobs, lots of people, making lots and lots of things. let's get your business rolling now, everybody sing. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪

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. all right. it's day 15 of the government shutdown. wall street getting increasingly weary like all of us right now. investors aren't convinced today at that time politicians here in washington will be able to hash out a plan to raise the debt ceiling. a lot of people are confused and want to put an end to this government shutdown. obviously, at the same time, the dow jones industrials down 41 points or so right now. let's bring in zain asher over at the new york stock exchange. i know i'm confused. a lot of folks in washington confused. i assume, zain, investors on wall street are confused, as well. >> absolutely. you can say that again, yeah. investors cautious right now. we keep this back and forth between democrats and republicans. we got some reinsurance yesterday from mitch mcconnell and harry reid only to wake up to hear that the house has been

working on its own bill. every time traders think they are close to a deal, the goal post moves again. traders are really frustrated about this idea of these continuous short-term fixes. if you look at the latest proposal, this time they're staggering the deadlines so the next time around they do have more room to negotiate. it's almost as if they're preparing for another political stalemate which doesn't bode well for the markets. wall street is hungry for this to be over. we have seen four straight days of gains partly because we've had so much talk of a deal. wall street really needs something concrete right now. >> the dow jones down 47 points right now. the ramifications enormous here in the united states and around the world. i want to welcome viewers not only here in the united states but around the world watching cnn right now. for the past two weeks or so, we've been traveling across the united states talking to people about how they are impacted by this partial government shutdown. now in week three. coming up, we're going to

huntington beach, california, to hear their messages to the leadership right here in washington. that's next. la's known definitely for its traffic, congestion, for the smog. but there are a lot of people that do ride the bus. and now that the buses are running on natural gas, they don't throw out as much pollution into the air. so i feel good. i feel like i'm doing my part to help out the environment.

. we're waiting for two briefings over here. on the left, you see the white house briefing room. jay carney, white house press secretary expected fairly soon, supposedly at the bottom of the hour in ten minutes when it's scheduled to begin. it could be delayed longer today. we'll hear what he has to say about these competing pieces of legislation on the senate and the house side. on the right-hand part of your screen, you're seeing a stake out reporters waiting to hear everywhere senate democrats and republicans. there's a lot of competing activity in the house and senate right now. we'll be watching it. we want to once again welcome viewers here in the united states and around the world to our special coverage. i'm wolf blitzer in washington. it's now less than 36 hours before the u.s. government risks defaulting on its debts. if it does so, the impact on everyday americans could be catastroph catastrophic. stephanie elam joins us from

huntington beach, california. i assume folks are nervous out there. what are you seeing and hearing, stephanie? >> yeah, wolf. there is a lot of frustration here. i know southern california especially out here in these beach communities get vet known for being very relaxed. but when it comes to the issue of the government shutdown, a lot of people are extremely frustrated with what they're hearing. take a listen to what they had to say. >> i know they have a tough job, but like anybody else, you hope they get their act together. i'm kind of tired of the kind of partisan bickering that goes on. >> get a budget. this is ridiculous. if any of us did this at our jobs, we had a deadline, we didn't make it for a month, we won't have a job. which is what i think should happen in d.c. >> i guess i'm disappointed. i'm disappointed that the people in washington can't come

together and move forward, get past this impasse. >> and one thing that's interesting to hear is one of the women there said they may be close to a deal but how do we really know? it's like saying you're running a marathon and you're on mile one. you still have 25 miles to run. they point out if we did this in our jobs, we would be out of a job. some saying they plan to make that move when they go to the ballots and they want to say get these people out the next time they go to elect their congress people. some changes here people are really feeling. >> people are feeling it all over the country. stephanie, thanks very much. what is your message to the folks here in washington? make a little video for us. send it to ireport.com as the shutdown continues. we may share your views right here on cnn. it all started with a family feud among some republicans in the house. now it's day 15 of this partial

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after weeks of stand still and stalemate, there are suddenly two plans to end the crisis over the partial government shutdown and the debt ceiling extension. the senate has been working on its own plan for the last couple days. this morning, the house republican leadership announced its own competing plan. the house minority leader nancy pelosi says it's an attempt in her words to sabotage the senate's efforts. the white house says it's another attempt by some members of congress, republicans, to demand ran some. words from the white house officials just for doing their job. any minute now, we're expecting the white house briefing to get started. you're looking at live pictures from the briefing room in the west wing. jay carney, the press secretary

expected to walk out and answer reporters questions. we'll get the latest from the white house as soon as he walks into that room. stand by for that. one senator is pretty clear-cut about the possibility of a government shutdown. he says it's a dumb idea. an that senator senator johnny isakson, republican from georgia, joining us right now. senator, thanks very much for coming in. >> good afternoon, wolf. good to be with you. >> so what was a dumb idea? >> well, defunding obama care or shutting down the government was an impossible goal to achieve because most of obama care is mandatory spending and you've got a democratic president with a vote toe pen and senate majority of democrats in the senate. so the goal should have been more achievable, shutting down the government should never have been a predicate for it. >> so that was a dumb idea knowing the president would never sign any law defunding. what about delaying obama care? that was the second pitch the republicans in the house put food? was that a dumb idea, as well.

>> it's a better idea. john boehner talked about a two-year delay in the medical device tax which has not been totally ruled out in discussions i've been in. we're moving towards common ground and moving towards a solution. i think everybody save a very few people in washington realize we need to end the shutdown and bring america back to work. >> so this latest proposal by the so-called gang of 12, six democrats, six republicans, susan collins, your republican colleague from maine among others putting forward this idea. it looked yesterday like it was moving forward, it would pass the senate and then they hoped the speaker would let it come up without any conditions on the house floor where it could pass, the president would sign it and then this whole thing would be over with at least for a few months till mid-january or early february. where does that stand right now? >> when john boehner sent the signal this morning he was going to have a press conference and they were meeting on the parameters of the deal, that immediately stopped the senate negotiations for really a very good reason because nothing

would be better than for the house to send us something they would pass with republican votes and democratic votes. that would be a good signal to us they're ready to deal. i think john is ready to deal. we're ready to go on the senate side. the fundamental parameters are in place. we're waiting to see what the final deal will be on the house side later this afternoon. >> let's say the house doesn't act because maybe he doesn't have enough votes even among his conservative coalition to get it passed. it the white house rejects it outright because it links various aspects of obama care to this current issue of closing the government or at least partial government shutdown, raising the debt ceiling. you would support what susan collins and others have come forward with. would it get 70 votes, 0 votes? it looks like it's got strong bipartisan support in the senate. >> i think it would. it doesn't change obama care but it puts in credibility on the

subsidies offered, income verification deals with the device tax. there's a lot of support for it. 70 votes is certainly within the realm of possibility. >> the device tax thing, i thought, was taken out of the latest version of the senate legislation. are you saying that's back in? >> no, i'm not saying it's back in. it was part of the original rlg discussion. income verification for subsidy purposes is definitely going to be in. >> that's something the white house may be ready to accept. i'm not sure they're ready to accept the delay for two years of that medical tax device. so looking back on this whole all of 15-day experience and two days away if that from a government poe government default, where do you put most of the blame? >> well, i've never been a blame type of guy and there's plenty of blame to go around in washington right now. obviously, there's been some problems on the republican side, but today with the democrats castigating john boehner for actually coming forward with a deal, now is the time we

shouldn't point fingers. now is the time to look for the 80% of the areas we agree. "let's make a deal," don't fight over the remaining 20 still out there. hopefully, cooler heads will prevail. hopefully politics will not rule the day and american people's best interests will be what drives us to a decision. >> i remember when the president was reaching out to the republican leadership. he asked you to help organize dinners are to him to meet with your republican colleagues. have you been been satisfied with the way the president has been dealing with you guys, republicans, in the senate over these past several months? >> i was very satisfied with the outcome of the eight or ten meetings we've had with the white house on the big picture items. i have been less than satisfied with the leadership we've seen on the debt ceiling issue and on the leadership on what final deal we might get to. the president did invite us over last friday. we had a forth right meeting in the white house. a lot of things in the final deal were discussed that day and that bodes well for us getting a final deal. >> one final question.

next 48 hours, deal or no deal? >> there will be a deal in my opinion. there's no excuse for there not being one. >> johnny isakson, the republican senator from georgia. thanks very much. >> thanks, wolf. almost 5.2 million, that's how many u.s. veterans may not get benefit checks if the partial government shutdown isn't ended in the coming days. we're going live to a rally at the world war ii memorial here in washington. that's next. [ male announcer ] this store knows how to handle a saturday crowd. ♪ [ male announcer ] the parking lot helps by letting us know who's coming. the carts keep everyone on the right track. the power tools introduce themselves. all the bits and bulbs keep themselves stocked. and the doors even handle the checkout so we can work on that thing that's stuck in the thing. [ female announcer ] today, cisco is connecting the internet of everything. so everyone goes home happy.

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dozens of veterans angry about the partial government shutdown rallied at the national world war ii memorial today here in washington. >> organizations, military and veterans organizations, we

represent active duty, retired, veterans, dependents and survivors. >> the group wanted to draw attention to what veterans will face if there's no deal. the department of veterans affairs says it will not be able to send out more than 5 million veterans checks starting november 1st including disability and pension pay for vests as well as benefits to families. it adds up to more than $6 billion. here's what one veteran who attended the rally thinks about this. >> it's crazy is what it is. >> politics. absolute politics. >> all politics. >> they forgot about the people. we -- i had buddies that -- i got buddies names on that wall over there. i mean, this is ridiculous. >> joe johnson joining us now. he's outside the world war ii memorial here in washington. sounds like a lot of these veterans are pretty angry. they should be pretty angry. what's the mood over will?

i take it the rally is now over. >> that's right, wolf. the rally is over. we're talking about 33 groups that represent the military coalition for uniformed services including veterans. these are peep, as you said, who essentially 5.2 million or so people who get $6.2 billion in benefits from the federal government. the va secretary has said that without this shutdown coming to an end, the government will not be able to assure delivery of those benefits. it's crating a lot of strong erakzs here at the world war ii veterans memorial. liste listen. we don't have that sound. >> hold on a second, joe. i think you were talking about texas congress woman sheila jackson lee. she spoke out on behalf of the veterans at that rally. i think we have a sound bite

from her. >> let us respect veterans whose lives are in cemeteries or whose lives have been recognized by being buried in america's cemeteries. let us stop the foolishness and put on the floor of the house the reasonable response to opening the government now so that men mourning those who have flags. >> gentleman's time has expired. >> are being respected. >> members are reminded to limit their. >> in front of the white house. open the government. >> gentleman is not recognized. >> all right. joe, obviously, this is a very vet passionate subject. republicans in the house say they're ready to pass separate piecemeal legislation that would make sure the veterans get benefits. the democrats in the house and in the senate and the president say just reopen the government. everybody gets what they want. so these reticencetive issues right now. >> we, they certainly are sensitive issues and highlighting that point, there were two senators from missouri over here just a little while

ago, claire mccaskill and roy blunt. one democrat, one republican. both reasonably optimistic that this problem is going to get fixed sometime soon. if it isn't fixed sometime soon, there is real concern come november 1st, some veterans at least in the this country could have a problem because the government says it can't assure delivery of those benefits, wolf. >> joe johns over at the world war ii memorial here in washington. there's a lot of focus on attention there over the past 15 days because of the partial government shutdown. we've just been told that the briefing over at the white house is about to begin. white house press secretary jay carney, you see the reporters are getting ready to be seated. jay carney presumably will open with a statement or whatever. we're anxious to get the official white house reaction to these competing bills now in the senate and the house and see what the white house is ready to do. how far will the president go in

accepting some demands, demands that a bipartisan coalition of senators are making, some demands. he seems to be ready 0 go along with what the senate is inclined to do but clearly not ready to go along with what the white house speaker john boehner laid out earlier today when he came out of the mighting with his republican conference. there's a big question mark right now hanging over washington, when will the government reopen, when will this debt ceiling be extended. we'll get the official white house reaction when we come back. i see a world bursting with opportunity, with ideas, with ambition. i'm thinking about china, brazil, india. the world's a big place. i want to be a part of it. ishares international etfs. access to developed markets, emerging markets and single countries. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus, which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses.

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there you see the white house press briefing room. we're told jay carney, the white house press secretary will walk through that door, go up to the podium and start taking reporters' questions. we'll get the white house reaction to what's going on on capitol hill. these are critical hours right now. we're only what, 35 hours or so away from this treasury department debt ceiling deadline. they want to make sure that the debt ceilinging is raised within the next 35 hours. here's jay carney getting ready. let's see if he makes a statement, answers reporters' questions. >> you bet. good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. thanks for being here. before i take your questions, i just wanted to note that earlier today, the president was briefed by senior staff on the effects of the lapse in appropriations.

the so-called shutdown. and among the items that he was briefed on was the fact that small businesses are feeling the impact of shutdown as key federal efforts that support small business have been halted. due to the shutdown, as you know now in its 15th day, the sba cannot approve new guarantees of loans provided by banks to small businesses. in a typical month, the small business administration approves loans to more than 4,000 small businesses. and halting these loans represents over $1 billion in lost loan assistance to small businesses there be jeopardizing thousands of jobs. and you know, again, another consequence of the wholly unnecessary completely manufactured crisis that is doing harm to our economy, harm to our small businesses and was

brought about by you know, one faction of one party in one house in one branch of government making ideological demands and there be shutting down the government. with that i take your questions. julie. >> thanks, jay. in order to get a sense of the state of play at this point, is it the white house's understanding that there is a deal in the senate that's been finalized between harry reid and mitch mcconnell that would lift the debt ceiling? >> the president is pleased with the progress that we've seen in the senate. it is important to note that the process that's been undertaken in the senate is bipartisan, that senators reid and mcconnell have been engaging one another. democrats and republicans have been engaging on this issue, and it's all built around the fundamental premise that we should not have the shut down the government, that we should reopen the government and must ensure that the united states pays its bills on time as it always had. we should do the congress should take those actions in a way that

does not have the partisan strings attached and that insures the kind of stability for our economy and for our middle class that they need. so we're pleased with the progress. i would refer you to senate leaders for the status of those discussions. but we certainly believe that there's a potential there for a resolution to this unnecessary manufactured crisis that can allow us to get back to the important business of helping grow the economy and create jobs and taking action to improve the lives of middle class americans that elected officials were sent here to do. >> reporter: is the white house confident that that resolution could pass both the senate and the house ahead of the thursday deadline for the debt ceilinging? >> for congressal timing and how. >> you guys know the state -- >> there's no question we are very close to a very important

deadline. and time is of the essence. so i think that is why you see some very serious-minded efforts being undertaken in the senate and we would hope that the house wos also approach this important deadline with the same understanding of just how serious it is. >> reporter: and in 2011, the u.s. credit rating was downgraded just because the government got so the close to a default. is the white house or treasury hearing from any of the rating agencies now that we are again very close to that deadline without a resolution? >> i would refer you to the treasury department for those kinds of conversations if they're taking place. that wouldn't be something i would brief on from here. we know from past experience the difficult lessons learned from 2011 that the serious flirtation

with default that house republicans engaged in two years ago led to some pretty negative consequences for our economy, including, as you noted, the united states being downgraded for the first time. >> the president in these briefings, he's getting every day, is he getting anything from these officials how the rating agencies -- >> would not be something i would brief on from here because obviously the issues that have to do with market sensitivities are not ones that i would address here. >> reporter: last week, the president said in a worst case scenario, there home run things that we'll do. what if thursday comes and there's no deal? has the white house started implementing any of those contingency plans already? >> i would not go further than what the president or the treasury secretary have said about that. i would refer you to treasury. the treasury secretary jack lew testified, as you know, last

week where broadly this issue was discussed. but we are obviously focused on working with members of congress, leaders in congress on an effort to do what we said was essential all along, which was open the government, and make sure that the united states pays its bills by extending the debt ceiling and doing that in a way that we don't simply put us on a trajectory to re-create this crisis again in a few weeks. so we're encouraged by the progress that we've seen in the senate. but we're far from a deal at this point. so we hope that -- we hope that progress continues. >> reporter: what is there about the senate deal that doesn't re-create the crisis in a few months down the road and doing this all over again in the new year? >> there's not a bill for me to analyze for you right now. >> the pending --

>> every participant in this exercise would hopefully understand that it should not be repeated. not in a few weeks, no the in a few months and when it comes to the fundamental responsibility of congress to ensure that the united states does not default, not ever. that's certainly the president's view. that is why he has been so insistent that we cannot engage in a process here that then becomes normalized where a minority in congress, a faction of one party and one house can threaten the full faith and credit of the united states if it does not get what it could not get through the normal legislative process or through elections. so you know, those are the stakes when it comes to the essential responsibility o congress to ensure that the department of treasury can pay our bills. >> there do seem to be strings

attached in the deal as it appears to be sort of coalescing or developing. what does the white house make of those strings? >> again, i'm not going to analyze details of a bill that we haven't seen yet and that has not emerged yet. yeah. >> reporter: jay, some of the -- it seems like the key parts at least of the senate bill, the reinsurance, the income verification, president obama said "nobody gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the united states just to the extract political concessions," but if you're open to that as presumably the white house is because they're talking to senate democrats, isn't that concessions? >> again, i think what we have seen -- what we have seen in the process thus far that senator reid has engaged in is a proposal that would reopen the government and remove the threat of a first ever of u.s. default by raising the debt ceiling.

you know, we don't need any more self-inflicted wounds from congress. the economy is already paying a price as outside analysts have noted. there is already a cost to the economy, and therefore, to growth and jobs from this behavior. and it's important, as i think so many americans believe, that it stop, that congress simply fulfill its basic responsibilities to open the government, to fund it at again, levels that were set by republicans so that we can get about the business of negotiating in good faith over longer term budget proposals. i'm not going to. >> but there are provisions on -- you are talking about the short-term increase in the debt ceilinging in the cr if you're not going to talk about the obama care provisions which are also on the table. i mean, you're talking about the short-term he debt ceiling and cr provisions.

even if these are small fry gives on obama care, doesn't it violate the principle that the president set out there that he will not negotiate on obama care? >> yeah, until we have a proposal that has emerged from negotiations in the senate, i'm not going to analyze it with you piece by piece. we've been encouraged by the progress and you know, we believe and the president believes it's very important when it comes to the debt ceiling that we not do what a previous effort in the house would have done which is try to create a scenario where budget negotiations and the renewal of government funding are once again tied directly to the essential responsibility of congress to pay our bills. and right before the holidays, which would have been -- would be a terrible outcome to this process as every business owner will tell you. and i think many of them have told you and many of them have

told their representatives in congress. >> so does he hold to that assertion he will not negotiate when it comes to obama care on the full faith and credit of the u.s. or of the government being shutdown. >> yes, he has made clear two things, as you know. he is willing within the context of broader budget negotiations, within the context of serious-minded and earnest discussions how to improve the affordable be care act to look at any proposal that might do that going to obama care. that's true on broader budget issues. but you know, as some of the ideas that we've seen this morning when it comes to sort of demanding ran some to try to rally tea party members in exchange for opening the government or raising the debt ceiling, that's not acceptable. it has not been through this whole process. >> speaker boehner, real quickly, is there nothing in the boehner proposal that's acceptable to you? >> reopening the government and

extending the debt ceiling, that's acceptable. >> the obama care provisions included in the senate deal? >> i think two things. one as i understand it, there's not eight proposal in the house to talk about now based on the press conference given by house republican leaders and based on some of the reporting i've seen since then, that's because they're not going back to try to add some sweeteners for tea party members. and the better course of action is the one being undertaken by democrats and republicans in the senate. instead of trying to once again craft a measure to ensure full republican support in the house, why not work on a measure that could get bipartisan support in the house the way that republicans and democrats are trying to do in the senate? that's certainly what i think is best for the american people. it's what -- it's the kind of process that the president supports. so with regards to you know

proposals that we haven't seen, it's hard to. >> aren't you cherry picking which parts you'll talk about? you're talking about the short term it were funding and debt ceiling ing increase but you won't talk about the other items. >> talking about the shutdown and the need to raise the debt ceiling, yeah, that's what we've been talking about for weeks. look, we've said all along that we want a debt ceiling increase for as long as possible because of the need to remove uncertainty from this process. the very -- the very uncertainty that has been created by this manufactured crisis is what we need to avoid as an economy going forward. and what washington needs to avoid because it is is already causing harm to the economy. it is already causing uncertainty among americans, which in turn has them making decisions about how they spend their money, which has a negative impact on potentially

on the economy, and that creates a cascading effect that can only be bad which is why we need to here in washington, why congress needs to fulfill its basic responsibilities, reopen the government and make sure that the full faith and credit of the united states is upheld as it has been in the past. john. >> jay, what exactly is the deadline? >> for? >> raising the debt ceiling for default? >> well, those are two different things as we've been explicitly clear about. on october 17th as the treasury secretary has noted many times, the united states runs out of borrowing authority. beyond that point, we only have cash on hand available to pay our bills. the treasury secretary has testified to this on capitol hill and is obviously far more an expert than i. so i would point you to police testimony and public statements about that fact. but as everyone knows, in order to meet all of our obligations, as a country, the united states

needs borrowing authority in order to make sure that all of our bills are made. all of the obligations that congress has made, all of the bills that congress has incurred will come due. if we can only pay those bills with cash on hand, that is a problem. that is what. >> everybody has their countdown clocks going on. they seem to be counting down do midnight tomorrow. is it midnight tomorrow when the calendar strikes the 17th. >> as much as i'd like to improve the quality of the countdown clocks, i would have to refer to you treasury on the minute and the hour. >> the countdown clocks, when does congress need to act by? do they need to pass something by tomorrow, can something pass by thursday? will the sky fall if it doesn't pass on friday? when is the deadline they have got to produce something? is it tomorrow? >> john, the deadline for avoiding uncertainty has passed. the deadline for not shutting the government down has long since passed.

congress has already failed to act in a timely fashion. but we hope that congress will act quickly to resolve these issues. >> i guess what i'm asking, when is it too late. >> i'm not sure what that means. they need to act as soon as possible. because what is absolutely true is that every day we're in shutdown, there's harm done top hundreds of thousands of americans and indirectly to many x more and there's direct harm done to our economy. every day that we get closer to the point beyond which we've never been which is where the united states does not have borrowing authority creates more trouble for our economy and uncertainty globally which has a negative impact on our economy. >> obviously there's a lot of anxiety in the bond market. can bondholders be reassured they will still receive their interest after tomorrow after thursday? >> those are the kind of questions that are best directed to the tre