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The Latest On The Debt Limit And Government Shutdown

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Negotiations down to the wire on the debt ceiling and the government shutdown.

Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, pauses during a news conference after a House GOP meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 in Washington. (AP)
Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, pauses during a news conference after a House GOP meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013 in Washington. (AP)

They sang Amazing Grace on Capitol Hill yesterday, but didn’t find that grace.  Today it’s going to take a hallelujah chorus to get the country out its jam.  There is so much on the line, and Congress is still so dug in.  We are now on the very brink of default, we’re told.  Real economic hell to pay if we don’t pull back.  And still, conservative Tea Partiers in the House threatened rebellion against House Speaker John Boehner when he tried to thread the needle.  Now it’s back to the Senate.  Clock ticking.  This country’s standing on the line.  Up next On Point:  Washington, down to the wire on default.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Robert Costa, Washington Editor at The National Review. (@RobertCostaNRO)

Amy Walter, National Editor of the Cook Political Report. (@AmyEWalter)

Annie Lowrey, Economic Policy reporter for the New York Times. (@AnnieLowrey)

Ryan Grim, Washington Bureau Chief for the Huffington Post.  (@RyanGrim)

From Tom's Reading List

National Review: House Conservatives Revolt — "'What they’ll come up with in the Senate will not get the support of most House Republicans,' predicts a House conservative strategist. 'And thus, after a lot of hand-wringing, it’ll be DOA. Just like with BCA in 2011, the most important question is, what can pass the House?  Everything else is subordinate to that. So, while the Senate is taking the lead right now, I expect the focus will soon shift back to the House, and back to the idea of doing a six-week extension of the debt ceiling.  While Obama and Reid won’t like it, they don’t want to go past October 17, either. The politics of the debt ceiling are different from the shutdown. And so, we feel they’ll reluctantly accept it as a stopgap measure.'"

New York Times: World Leaders Press the U.S. on Fiscal Crisis — "Leaders at World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings on Sunday pleaded, warned and cajoled: the United States must raise its debt ceiling and reopen its government or risk “massive disruption the world over,” as Christine Lagarde, the fund’s managing director, put it. The fiscal problems of the United States overshadowed the official agendas for the meetings, with representatives from dozens of countries — including two of Washington’s most important economic partners, Saudi Arabia and China — publicly expressing worries about what was happening on Capitol Hill and in the White House."

Cook Political Report: Low Ratings for President, Congress and Consumer Confidence Make This Shutdown Different From Rest — "While a government shut-down is not new, it is the first time where we've seen a combination of low presidential approval, low consumer confidence and low approval ratings of Congress. With no one starting in a good position, it becomes harder to predict just how this plays out politically over the next few weeks - or even into 2014."

This program aired on October 16, 2013.

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