In what is the first sign of progress since the government shutdown began ten days ago House Republicans are expected to introduce a plan that would raise the debt limit for six weeks, the bill would be a "clean" bill without any conditions, according to the Wall Street Journal.
House Republicans were meeting behind closed doors on Thursday morning before Republican leaders were scheduled to visit the White House to meet with President Barack Obama. The White House has insisted that Thursday's meeting will not be a negotiation as they do not plan to negotiate until the threat of default has been lifted and the government has been reopened, according to the Wall Street Journal.
It appears as if Republicans may be willing to set aside the battle over the Affordable Care Act that forced the government shutdown and focus on other spending issues, a move that some of the most conservative in the Party will not likely accept happily. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has proposed a budget that would overhaul Medicare and begin to restructure the tax code, according to the New York Times.
"We're more in the ideas stage right now," Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., told the New York Times. "There is a developing consensus that this is a lot bigger than an Obamacare discussion."
As the government shutdown entered its tenth day both sides seemed to be growing weary. A group of 26 House Democrats have broken ranks to join a bipartisan group calling for negotiations to end the impasse to begin. The Koch brothers, prominent conservative fundraisers, wrote a letter to the Senate distancing themselves from the shutdown, according to the New York Times.
With the Oct. 17 deadline only a week away Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew testified before the Senate Finance Committee and warned of the potential economic damage that could be done if the United States were to default on its debt, according to CNBC.
"The United States should not be put in a position of making such perilous choices for our economy and our citizens," Lew said. "There is no way of knowing the irrevocable damage such an approach would have on our economy and financial markets."
