Senate leaders jump-started negotiations over a compromise bill to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling late Tuesday after House Republicans’ efforts to pass their own alternative crumbled in embarrassing fashion for GOP leaders.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and his Republican counterpart, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ky., were working to nail down the details of the plan through mid-morning Wednesday. Their plan was expected to reinstate government spending through mid-January and extend the debt limit through early February. Their plan also called for lawmakers to work toward agreement on an overarching budget by Dec. 13, as well as stricter income verification for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
Senate leaders continue to work to nail down the final details of the arrangement and indications were that it would actually be the House that would act first upon the deal in order to expedite the legislative process.
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