US senators close to reaching deal on shutdown

WASHINGTON: US Senators say they are closing in on a deal that would reopen the government and push back a possible debt default for several months, though many hurdles remain. Senate majority leader Harry Reid says he and his Republican counterpart, Mitch McConnell, have "made tremendous progress. We are not there yet". "We hope that with good fortune ... that perhaps tomorrow will be a bright day," he said from the Senate floor. Mr. Reid and Mr. McConnell are trying to reach an agreement that would end the 14-day-old shutdown of many government agencies and lift the debt limit before the US Treasury exhausts the nation's remaining borrowing capacity on October 17, raising the risk of default. "We've had a good day, we had a good day yesterday," Mr. McConnell said. "It's safe to say we've made substantial progress and we look forward to making more progress in the near future. "I share [Mr Reid's] optimism that we we're going to get a result that will be acceptable to both sides," he said on the Senate floor. The plan under discussion would raise the $US16.7 trillion debt ceiling by enough to cover the nation's borrowing needs at least through until mid-February 2014, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. It also would fund government operations through to the middle of January, keeping in place the across-the-board "sequester" spending cuts that took effect in March, though government agencies would have more latitude to ease their impact. America doesn't have a governor-general who can step in and resolve its budget impasse, but it could consider consulting the people via a referendum, writes Ron Levy. It would also set up a new round of budget talks that would try to strike a bargain by year's end. Any deal would also have to win approval in the House of Representatives, where conservative Republicans have insisted any continued government funding must include measures to undercut president Barack Obama's signature health law - a nonstarter for Democrats. The deal would not resolve the disagreements over long-term spending and health care that led to the crisis in the first place. "If Republicans aren't willing to set aside their partisan concerns in order to do what's right for the country, we stand a good chance of defaulting, and defaulting could potentially have a devastating effect on our economy," Mr. Obama said earlier. Such a deal would amount to a clear retreat for Republicans who have sought to tie any continued funding and borrowing authority to measures that would undercut Mr. Obama's Affordable Care Act. Earlier, the White House postponed a meeting with congressional leaders in order to give negotiators more time to work out a deal.