if you will, the debt ceiling until februar 7th. so these are concessions on the president's part. >> that's absolutely right, wolf i think the strategic minds inside the white house would have loved a debt ceiling increase for another year. that would have brought us to october, mid-october of 2014. why? because the midterm elections would only be two weeks away. they sort of were wondering here at the white house why republicans did not take a debt ceiling increase that took them past the midterms. so they didn't wind up in the situation all over again right before the midterm elections because theoretically speaking and you've heard this from some house republicans they have said well, this is happening now in 2013. it's not really happening in 2014. and the election is next year. the thinking being that well, people will have forgotten about all of this by the time next year comes around. having said all of that, if and when we get out of this mess today, there's nothing -- there's nothing that guarantees that this doesn't happen all over again in january or

february. the president may have to once again hold his ground as he did in this scenario. >> the senate chaplan is beginning with a prayer. let's listen in. >> they are democrat, republican, or independent, they are americans. as they remember their accountability to you and to history, empower them to keep our nation strong, staying true to their oath to defend our constitution against external and interm foes. lord, keep them from making any decision that will seem reckless in the sober light of hindsight.

we pray in your mighty name, amen. >> please join me in pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> here, i'll give you back -- the majority leader. >> 211. >> motion to proceed to counter number 211 s 1569 a bill to ensure the complete and timely payment of the obligations of the united states government until december 31st, 2014. >> following the remarks of the republican leader and me, the

senate will be in a period of morning business where senators will be allowed for up to ten minutes each or at least be in a situation where people can speak up to ten minutes each. mr. president, i'm going to wait till senator mcconnell gets to the floor. so i'm not going to give any long remarks here. in can the fa, i'm i'm not going to give long remarks anytime. while we're waiting for senator mcconnell, i haven't had the opportunity to say this. admiral black has for me, during this long period of crisis we've had in the country, been a voice of stability, a voice of inspiration to me and i'm being very selfish in saying me. but it's been for the entire senate and for the country. his heartfelt prayers are so timely and so sensitive to the needs of our country and the

need that we all have to call upon our spirituality to get us through periods of difficulty. i speak for -- i can't speak for the entire senate by saying how much we admire and respect this good man, who is a counselor and a leader in the senate as much as anyone that serves in this body. . >> the clerk will call the role. >> mr. alexander. floor of the u.s. senate. you heard harry reid the majority leader saying he wanted to wait for mitch mcconnell to come up. that's presumably when they will make their announcement about this, let's call it a tentative deal that appears to be in the works, a deal that would get the government fully operational at least for a while until january 15th and raise the nation's debt

ceiling until february 7th. gloria borg ser here once again, we want to welcome our viewers here in the united states and around the world. gloria, what does it say about these two leaders, the majority leader and the minority leader that apparently they've been able to do what so many other folks couldn't do, especially in the house of representatives, work out a deal? >> well, it says a couple of things. as you know, wolf, they're not close friends. harry reid and mitch mcconnell have effectively campaigned against each other not in their states but raised money for the campaign committees to defeat the other one. mcconnell's in a race now for re-election and harry reid is helping his opponent. so they're not close. but what it does say is that each believes that they can deliver their own caucus and that they can speak for their caucus when they cut a deal. mitch mcconnell has someone problematic in ted cruz, but i

there that he knows that the rest of his caucus wanted to get a deal done as did harry reid. i think both of them are experienced, wiley, tough negotiators, wolf. and they let the house, they watched the and theics in the house and when john boehner couldn't get anything done, i think they were a little surprised at what the occurred but then they decided okay, we've got to step in now because we're at the precipice of something really catastrophic and can't let this happen. >> it's interesting, the last time we went through this kind of fiscal crisis averting the fiscal cliff, mitch mcconnell was very much involved in a last-minute deal. that time it was the vice president, joe biden who represented the democrats and worked out the deal with him. harry reid came on board afterwards. this time harry reid really wanted to take charge. >> harry reid wasn't happy with that deal in 2011. looking back on it, i don't think the president was very happy with it either. he didn't like the sequesters

that came as a result and so i think both the president said i'm not going to do that all over again, which is why he stood firm this time. and harry reid said you know what? let me do the negotiating this time. i don't want joe biden to do it. i can get this con. harry reid is tough. he's very tough, he's very wiley. he figured out a way to get this done. if you look at the deal dana bash has been reporting we've been talking about since yesterday, it is essentially a white flag. the only thing that's in it is an anti-fraud measure on obama care which basically everybody can agree toe. >> who can oppose that? >> who can oppose that? the republicans in the house have marched themselves right over to the point of irrelevancy where effectively after two weeks of this wolf, it didn't matter what they did. we wound up with a deal that they could have had on day one. and they've lost 20 points in the opinion polls, as well.

>> we'll see what happens. it's not a deal until there's a deal till the president signs it into law. >> we don't know what ted cruz is going to do. >> there's a lot of questions. we're awaiting the majority leader and minority leader harry reid, mitch mcconnell. they're going to be making what amounts to a joint statement on the floor of the u.s. senate. as soon as they have that, we'll have live coverage of that. also this hour, we're waiting for jay carney, the white house press secretary briefing reporters. i suspect that could be delayed a little bit. they want to hear what the senate and house leaders have to say. at some point, the white house will weigh in. we'll see exactly when that happens. we do know the markets are weighing in. zain asher is joining us from the new york stock exchange. pretty upbeat about what's happening here in washington today, zain. >> yeah, wolf. certainly there is a strong feeling of optimism. i've been talking to traders all morning. number one, obviously they're hopeful about a deal, but aside from that, traders don't necessarily think that tonight

means armageddon. they know the treasury still has a little bit of money to pay our bys, plus it's getting tax revenue, as well. even the rating agencies, including fitch who put us on notice yesterday, they've emphasized several times they do not expect the u.s. to default. no one here is questioning our ability to pay our bills. they're questioning governance. and the idea on floor is the u.s. will do the right thing at least at the 11th hour. a couple of red plags. the dow is up 198 points. volume is still low. you don't have a lot of people really participating in this market. there's some fear in that sense, but secondly, a lot of -- what a lot of traders are talking about is this market hasn't reacted strong enough to force washington to act. it may mean the next time you come up against a deadline, you might see the same political brinksmanship all over again. >> and christine romans is here in washington watching what's going on. just curious, christine, that announcement from fitch, the

credit rating agency last night to the effectively put the u.s. on a watch list, not degrading the aaa rating of the united states but issuing a negative warning in effect, do you think that really propelled cooler heads here in washington to say you know what? we're dealing with fire right now. we've got to get this temporary deal through and worry about some other issues down the road? >> reporter: i think there are a lot of things coming together at the same time. certainly that fitch warning is just sort of a reminder that look, washington was not taking care of business. it was not running the country the way it should have been. that was a warning to investors around the world. now, remember that are fitch warning did say it thought a deal would get done but should have been done by now. so that warning clearly heeded. we'll see how this plays out over the next hours, of course, but wall street certainly enthusiastic. i'm here at the powerful women conference and talking to ceos

and leaders and all of them saying they wanted a deal to get done, a deal should have been done by now. they thought a deal would get done, but that this is no way to run the country. many of them telling me they're very, very concerned about what comes again in the next few months if this is a short-term deal, short-term solution that we're back here again in the beginning of next year. that's not good for consumer sentiment, not good for business sentiment. not all of them saying our long national nightmare is not over. that's what they're saying >> if they can reach a deal on some of the entitlement issues, social security, medicare, tax reform by december 13th, house conferrees supposed to talk about budget long-term. that would be a major step in the right direction. christine romans, stand by. zain asher stand by. everyone stand by. we're waiting for the senate majority leader to outline the deal. we're waiting for white house

reaction. we're going to hear what the speaker has to say. how is the house republican caucus going to respond to all of this? lots of questions. we'll get answers. stay with us. ?hña @8@x

let me set the scene for viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. you're looking at the house of representatives, the floor on

the right part of your screen, the senate chamber on the left part of your screen. we're awaiting the majority leader in the senate, harry reid and the minority leader mitch mcconnell. they're going to be both on the senate floor making their respective statements. we believe a statement on then tentative deal to resolve this issue, get the government fully operational, end the government shutdown and raise the nation's debt ceiling. we'll see what happens in the house of representatives at the same time at some point, we'll have live coverage of the white house press secretary jay carney reacting to all of these developments. . as we await mitch mcconnell the republican leader in the senate and harry reid the majority, the democratic leader, let's bring in a republican congressman from from louisiana, john flemming is joining us right now. congressman, thanks very much for coming in. >> hi, wolf, thank you. >> so what is your understanding? you're you're pretty plugged in over there. what is your understanding that the senate is about to announce and then the house would

obviously react, as well? the state of play, if you will, on these issues of ending the government shutdown and raising the nation's debt ceiling? >> wolf, my understanding is that the senate has cut a deal that would basically provide for a short-term cr and a short-term debt ceiling increase. and then it would go to conference on the budget. the only amendment i'm aware of, and it is relative to obama care, would be to have income verification for the exchanges. we know that's going to be a disaster. people signing up, claiming all sorts of income levels that aren't true. and taking the subsidies. so that appears to be the only thing. but remember, that was in the law the president had decided to forego that at least for a year, i guess for technical reasons. >> so are you inclined, assuming the speaker of the house, john boehner lets this senate compromise, the senate language go through, come up for a vote

on the floor of the house of representatives, can are you inclined to vote yea or nay? >> wolf, i'm going to vote against this measure. it's not strident enough. it doesn't do enough to protect the people from a terrible law, as you and i discussed before, obama care, the first two weeks have been a disastrous rollout. sticker shock among those who actually go on the exchanges and see what it really costs. and i pledged to my constituents that i'm going to do everything i can to protect them from the damage, the injury coming from obama care. >> but you know, congressman, that if this doesn't pass, your constituents will suffer enormously if interest rates go up, if major corporations have to lay off people, if they can't hire people, if social security checks don't go out, if veterans, military benefits don't go out. in other words, if the u.s. can't pay its debt, can't pay all of its financial obligations domestically and internationally, your constituents will suffer a whole

lot more. >> that's why the president for the first time needs to take leadership and do the right thing and call off the implementation of obama karat least for a year to get all of these problems fixed. >> you know he's not -- congress mann, hold on one second. harry reid is speaking on the senate floor. stand by. we'll continue this conversation. >> compromise we reached will provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs. it's never easy for two sides to reach consensus. it's really hard. sometimes harder than others. this time was really hard. but after weeks spent facing off across partisan divide that often seemed too wide to cross, our country came to the brink of disaster. but in the end, political adversaries set aside their differences and disagreements to prevent that disaster. i thank the republican leader for his diligent efforts 0 reach this important agreement.

republican leader's cooperation was essential to reach an accord that are core pass both chambers of congress and also be signed by president obama. as part of our agreement, in order to assure congress continue the work of setting this country on a an path of fiscal sustainability, this legislation names conferrees to a budget conference committee that will set our country on a long-term path to fiscal sustainability. and i know some say that's going to be hard. what we do is hard here. and this is really hard, but i think we can get it done. the committee members selected must have open minds, be willing to exert every option no matter how painful to their own political ideas and even their own political parties. this conference committee led by chairman murray and chairman ryan which will produce its negotiated budget resolution in

december is a perfect place to discuss our differing views of the best way to chart a course for economic growth. this legislation also funds the government through january 15th and averts doo fault through february 7th, during which time we can work toward a long-term budget you the agreement that prevents these frequent crises. and perhaps most importantly, this legislation ends a standoff that ground the work of washington to a halt this fall. madame president, this is not a time for pointing fingers of blame. this is a time of reconciliation. i look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of this great capitol to pass this remarkable agreement which will protect the long-term health of our economy and avert a default of our nation's debt and allow us to set a foundation for economic expansion. what we've done system september a message to americans from every one of our 50 states, but in addition to that, to the

citizens of every country in the world that the united states lives up to its obligations. now, congress must return to its most important job, fostering economic growth and protecting middle class families. i appreciate through all of this the steady hand of president obama who helped guide us to this conclusion. i'm optimistic that the spirit of compromise that has taken root in the senate will the endure. i do know this. of senator mcconnell and i have sat in very, very serious discussions the last few days. we're going to do everything we can to change the atmosphere in the senate and accomplish things that need to be done for our country. >> madame president. >> the republican leader. >> this has been a long challenging few weeks for congress and for the country. it's my hope that today, we can

put some of the -- >> would that be okay with everybody? >> do it. >> never mind. >> senator is, can you tell us, do you plan to delay the vote in the senate and how will you. >> let me wait till everyone is situated. unfortunately, once again, it appears the washington establishment is refusing to listen to the american people. the deal that has been cut provides no relief to the millions of americans who are hurting because of obama care. the deal provides no relief to all the young people coming out of school who can't find a job because of obama care. it provides no relief to all the single parents who have been forced into part-time work struggling to feed their kids on 29 hours a week. it provides no relief to all the

hard-working families facing skyrocketing health insurance premiums and it provides no relief to all the seniors, to all the people with disbablts who are right now getting in the mail notifications from their health insurance companies that they're losing health insurance because of obama care. >> let's leave ted cruz. he's opposed to this deal. let's go back be to mitch mcconnell on the senate floor. he supports it. >> i'm not going back on this agreement. there's a lot more we need to do to get our nation's fiscal house in order. hopefully, once we've gotten past the drama of the moment, we can get to work on it. but for now, let's not understate the importance of the budget control act or the importance of the fight tompt preserve it. this legislation is the largest spending reduction bill of the laurt quarter century and the largest deficit reduction bill since 1981 that didn't include a tax hike.

reserving this law is critically important to the future of our country. throughout this debate, the public has rightly focused on obama care. for good reason. this law sura salvaging our economy, killing jobs, driving up premiums, and driving people off the health care plans they have and like in droves. its disastrous rollout is a sign of even worse things to come and the refusal to delay it reflects a kind of stubborn ideological obsession that will do untold damage to our country. republicans remain determined to repeal this terrible law. but for today, for today, the relief we hope for is to reopen the government, avoid default, and protect the historic cuts we achieved under the budget control act. this is far less than many of us had hoped for, frankly. but it's far better than what

some had sauth. now it's time for republicans to unite behind other crucial goals. madame president, i yield the floor. >> under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, senators are permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. >> madame president. >> senator from arkansas. >> all right. so there you heard it, historic words from both mitch mcconnell and harry reid, the republican and democratic leaders, the minority and majority leader announcing they have reached an agreement to end the government shutdown. they have reached an agreement to raise the nation's debt ceiling, the government shutdown, the government will be

fully operational at least until january 15th. the debt ceilinging will be raised at least until february 7th. in the meantime, house and senate budget conferrees, representatives of the house of representatives and representatives of the senate will work on long-term budget-related issues to try to many could up with some long-term agreements to deal with these issues, both harry reid and mitch mccobbling their respective best faces forward on what they have reached agreement on. we also heard from senator ted cruz, the tea party favorite from texas railing against this. he clearly is opposed. at the same time, he told reporters he would not try to block a vote on the floor of the senate because he understands that presumably, it's going to go through with or without ted cruz's support and a few other very, very conservative senators in the senate, ted cruz you see him right there. gloria borger was watching all of this with us.

now we have to figure out, does the vote come up in the senate right away? >> right. >> now that cruz says he won't block it? will others try to block it, mike lee of utah, for example? >> i think they kind of come together. >> i assume they've all worked together. then what happens. the house and the speaker allows what may pass in the senate to come up for a yea or nay vote in the house. >> we have to presume it passes in the house, that there are now enough republicans who would join with democrats to get this done. i think ted cruz's decision was kind of one of the last issues regarding the timing of this because he could have held this up for as much as 30 hours. and it's clear that he's decided not to do that, whether there was pressure put upon him from leadership or whether he thought for his own political reasons that this has been such a disaster for the republican party as a whole that he may have decided to back off and just let this go through. he was clearly still making his points about obama care.

>> let's listen in to cruz a little bit. >> but what matters more than any politicians in washington is all of the people across this country who are hurting right now, who are getting in the mail a notification that the health care they're relying on for their care for their parents' care for their children's care, that it's being canceled because of obama care. president obama promised the american people obama care would lower your health insurance premiums. i would venture to say virtually every person across this country has seen exactly the opposite happen, has seen premiums going up and up and felon sees the premiums sees the premiums going up and up and up. president obama promised the american people if you like your health insurance, you can keep it. we now know that statement was flat out categorically false. people all over this country are losing their health insurance. 15,000 u.p.s. employees got a notification in the mail that

they were losing spousal coverage, that their husbands and wives were all losing the health insurance that they wanted and they liked. that is happening all over the country. it's wrong. and the focus in my few should not be on the politics of washington. the politics of washington at the end of the day doesn't matter. what the focus should be is on making washington, d.c. listen to the american people and respond to the very real harms that obama care is causing the millions of people. thank you very much. >> senator? >> so there you have it, ted cruz adamantly opposed as we all know to the affordable care act known as obama care. john mccain is on the floor of the senate. i'm curious to hear how he's reacting to all of this. >> worked with my -- i'm proud to have worked with the members from the other side and on my side of the aisle. and this isn't the last crisis that we are going to go through.

but i think we have the framework for the kind of bipartisanship that the american people need and want. so i thank them. i look forward to working with them in the future. and i also enjoyed the spirited discussions that we had. and i want to thank especially my friend from maine who enriched me with a small side wager that we made during the course of this discussion. i yield the floor. >> madame president, the senator from minnesota. >> madame president, i thank the senator from arizona. he brought a very experienced voice to our group, and especially i want to thank senator col lipts for bringing this group together. i think it shows what courage is going to be in the next year in this chamber and in the congress. it's not going to just be standing here by yourself making a speech with no one there. courage is going to be whether or not you're willing to stand next to someone you don't always

agree with for the betterment of this country. >> amy klobuchar is the senator from minnesota, one of the main players in working out this deal, part of that so-called gang of 12, six democrats, six republicans working together, john mccain was part of that group, susan collins, the senator from maine really took a great initiative in coming up with some of the parameters that were eventually agreed upon by the republican and democratic leaders in the senate. a lot of folks say, gloria, that the women in the -- there already 20 women in the united states senate that they really did take charge and come up with this deal. >> yeah, i mean, i think led by susan collins and amy klobuchar and some others, they said look, we just can't let this occur. susan collins, for example, is a republican up for re-election in the state of maine. she had ads run against her by heritage action with ted cruz in them. and was one of the people the most frustrated by that saying to her colleagues privately in a

caucus, if i don't get re-elected in the state of maine, which republican is going to get re-elected there or elected there? so there was a lot of frustration that kind of boiled out, wolf. what struck me about ted cruz is that what he was talking about is obama care. this is important to him. it's important to those republicans who came here. they got elected to repeal obama care. but other republicans have said to me all along and john mccain was one of them, which is that they were promising to do something that they knew they could never do. and that it was unfair. they were making a promise that they were going to repeal obama care to the american people that they knew they could not keep because of the way the congress is divided. so ultimately, in the end, i think ted cruz is going to take his fight, continue his fight nationally. and he'll see who follows him in the republican party, but this is a party right now, wolf, make no mistake about it, that is

completely split and even "the wall street journal" today which very often speaks for the republican party called this a comedy of political errors. >> a very tough editorial by the writers of the "wall street journal." let's go back to dana bash, chief congressional correspondent. dana, walk us through where we go from here. we heard the statements from mitch mcconnell and harry reid. they're on the same page right now. so what happens next? >> we don't have a firm answer yet. there are mixed reports from the senators themselves coming out of the meeting that they just had with mitch mcconnell, republican senators that is, about who will go first, whether the senate will vote on this first or the house. it certainly seems to me that it is possible for the senate to go first. here's the reason why. the news, if you will out of what senator ted cruz just said to us at the cameras is he's not going to block the vote, that we understand from other sources he told his colleagues in this

meeting that just wrapped up he has no intention of slowing things down. so if that is the case, then there's no dpleed for the house to go first because the senate can get an agreement to vote on then deal. so it is entirely possible, i would venture to say probable na now is going to be what's going to happen because all of the match nigss therapy trying to go through was all trying to work around ted cruz who they expected to slow things down. he announced he's not going to slow things down. that's why we expect things to happen today in the senate and the house. this whole thing could be wrapped up by the end of the day and could be voed on, sent off to capitol hill to the president's kesk by tonight. >> yeah, that would be pretty amazing when you think about it. are we sure that other opponents of obama care, senator rand paul, for example, senator mike lee of utah, are they on the same page as ted cruz? can we assume if ted cruz says

he's not going to put any procedural blockades in front of this, they won't either? >> yes, i'm pretty confident that that is the case. in fact, senator who came out of the meeting told me that will both mike lee and tid cruz told their colleagues that they are not going to hold this up. they would certainly be the most likely suspects to do that. rand paul has not been as aggressive on the strategy at all. in fact, i think he's been pretty torn whether the strategy was the right way to go in the first place. ez he's not going to stop this train at this point certainly now that republicans have gotten so much blames and are so divided over what has become a mess within the republican party. >> if it goes to the senate party, it will pass the senate. then it will be up to the speaker of the house john boehner to let it come up for a vote without any changes, without any amendments as is presumably would then pass the house. the president would get ready to sign it. government would reopen fully. the nation's debt ceiling would

be raised till february 7th. let's see what happens. still a ways to go. we'll watch every single step of the way and get reaction from the house of representatives. we'll get reaction from the white house. jay carney scheduled to brief reporters. that's going to be delayed as we all know. our special coverage here in washington continues right after this. ♪ norfolk southern what's your function? ♪ ♪ hooking up the country helping business run ♪ ♪ build! we're investing big to keep our country in the lead.

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welcome back. a historic day here in washington, a deal at least among the senate republicans and democratses to go forward to end the government shutdown. raise the nation's debt ceiling, tinker a little bit with obama care, but not very significant tinkering. and also promise that house and senate budget committee representatives, chairmen will go forward and start dealing with some of the long-term budget-related issues. lots to assess. the senate's going to vote on this, and ted cruz, the republican senator from texas

only moments ago said he's not going to stand in the way of a vote on the floor of the senate. >> i have no objections to the timing of this vote. the reason is simple. there's nothing to be gained from delaying this vote one day or two days. the outcome will be the same. every senator, every member of the house is going to have to make a decision where he or she stands. but there's no benefit. i've never had any intention of delaying the timing of this vote. >> all right. so there he is, ted cruz saying that he's not going to do any filibusters, any other procedural delays. he's going to allow this vote to come up on the floor of the senate. democratic senator barbara mikulski is joining us, democratic senator from maryland. thanks very much for joining us. i assume you're pleased with this deal. >> first of all, wolf, here at the capitol it, there's a real sense of relief that we're actually going to reopen government and we're actually have the united states of

america pay its bills and that we're going to get back to work solving the long-term fiscal issues of our country and also promoting a pro growth, pro jobs approach to our physical situation. i chair the appropriations committee and look forward to working across the aisle and meeting their deadlines and really joining the middle of the roaders here in the senate to get help help middle class americans. >> so as far as you can see here, it's going to be january 15th. that's when the government will remain fully open, potentially there could be another shutdown january 15th. debt ceilinging will be raised until february 7th. are we going to go through this agonizing ordeal in january and february one more time, senator? >> well, it's going to be a very tight schedule. but if the budget committee is allowed to vote and allowed to meet because they've been

blocked by six tea party an republicans, now we have an agreement to move forward. we can be able to do the job. but this is why i used the term the middle. america is a middle of the road country. and it wants its elected officials to be middle of the road. to find and think about the middle class, ordinary people who are out there working hard from day for their money and they want us to work very hard when government spends its money. and i think what you saw really led by a lot of the energy created by the women. i'm so proud of what senator sue collins and amy klobuchar did, patty murray, the budget, i'm the appropriations committee that puts money in the federal checkbook. we want to be able to go right down the middle, find what colin powell says, that sensible center and meet our problems but do it in a way with sensibility, with civility and working together. and i believe that's the majority of the senate.

>> senator, walk us through what happens next. i assume now that ted cruz and some other republicans say they're not going to use any blocking mechanisms to try to prevent a vote on the floor of the senate, it's going to come up for a formal vote on the floor of the senate within the next few hours. is that right? >> yeah, and this is the way our government should be. i really appreciate senator cruz and his cadre of followers that they won't use parliamentary tools or tricks to block the ordinary procedures of the senate. so somewhere over both today and tomorrow, the house and senate will vote. >> who vote first? the house or the senate? >> well, they're working out what is the best parliamentary framework to have the most expedited procedure. so while the parliamentary gurus are working on that, many of us are working on getting ready not to the fuss about parliamentary procedure but how to really

focus on the long-term problems. we're already discussing among ourselves how we can begin our meetings necessary to get the job done. but once the senate and the house vote and this passes, it will go to the president. the president will sign the legislation that reopens government. government goes back to work providing essential services and protecting the american people. and then we also say to the world, we're going to pay our bills. don't worry about the safety and solvency of america's t-bills. we're not going to be a deadbeat nation. we're not going to go to junk bond status. and i say that we can now move forward, and i believe that again, if we focus with mutual respect, do what the middle road americans want us to do, we can get the job done. >> so assuming everybody's on board now in the senate, why not

have a roll call vote right away, get it over with, pass it in the next couple of three hours, have a little bit of debate. i'm a little confused. you could do that the senate majority leader, minority leader are both on board. pass it in the senate and send it over to the speaker, let him pass it. let him put it up for a vote in the house. >> i admire you so much. and you've been doing such a great job talking to the american people but you're focusing on parliamentary procedure and who goes first. we want to make sure that the american people aren't going last. regardless of what body of the house goes first, both of us will vote. what we need to do is look at the most expedited efficient procedure. that's what the leadership is talking about. but the real conversation ha has to go on here is the kind of conversation that goes on at american kitchen tables. how much money are we going to have? how are we going to pay our

bills? what should we be spending our money on? the same questions american families ask of themselves, we need to ask of ourselves. and this is where we need to focus our conversation now. >> and i know you're working as quickly as you possibly can. the pressures are enormous. the treasury secretary jack lieu says at midnight tonight, they're going to stop being able to make some of those payments. i suspect he's got a little maneuverability left. every day that hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed, they're not getting paid. so the pressure is to do it today. if you can get it the done today, great if you've got to wait till tomorrow, that's still okay. obviously every day counts when so many people out there are suffering. i know you totally agree with me. >> absolutely. i represent one of the largest concentrations of federal employees in the state. and they're great people that are looking out for america. they work at the national institutes of health.

finding cures for diseases. they work at the national weather service so we know what the weather is. and we've got to deal with the stormy weather here in washington so that the federal employees can go back to work at social security, at the weather service, and nih and other crucial agencies doing the job that they're going to be paid to do, performing essential services and we've got to the do the essential work of coming to grips with our fiscal situation, how much money do we have to spend, what is the best way to spend it to move america forward and draw down our public debt. >> barbara mikulski is the democratic senator. one of two would democratic senators from the state of maryland. senator, thanks very much for joining us. >> you're welcome. >> we're going to continue our special coverage. important developments on the floor of the united states senate, but the house of representatives, there's an equal branch in the legislative branch. they've got to act, as well. we're anxious to hear from the

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important activity on the floor of the united states senate. we're going to get white house reaction as soon as jay carney, the white house press secretary goes into the white house briefing room. scheduled to begin 20 minutes or so ago. i expect he wants to the wait a little bit and see what the house is going to do. we know what the senate is going to do because the senate republican and democratic leaders are both on board. they've worked out a deal to end the government shutdown and make sure that an the nation's debt ceiling is increased at least for a few months down the road. we'll get reaction from the house, we'll get reaction from the white house, as well. so stand by for that. in the meantime, let's get some reaction from van jones and newt gingrich, the two the co-hosts of crossfire" who are here with us, as well. if you were still in the united states congress, would you support this deal that will mitch mcconnell and harry reid

announced? >> i have no idea. >> you know what the outlines are. >> this is about as bad a way to govern as you can get. >> why? >> the language hasn't been written. the whole thing was done in secret. the american people are cut out. i just think -- i'm not defending. >> you want to see the language. >> the fine print is called law. >> basically what we do know is that the government stays open at least till january 15th. the debt ceilinging is raised at least through february 7th. house and senate budget committee members they tried to work out some long-term budget-related issues by december 13th and there's an income verification clause to obama care that's put in to make it difficult for people to commit fraud about their incomes. those are the basic outlines of the deal. you like it? >> i like what i know about it. this is a big deal. this wasn't just obama on trial. this wasn't just the tea party on trial. this was the governability of the united states on trial. we went right up against the

line. and you have people around the world actually asking the question whether or not our system could work. the heroes are not even being talked about. amy klobuchar. ted cruz went down to a humiliating defeat today as he deserved. amy klobuchar, a female democratic senator who wasn't jumping in front of cameras, who was working her touch off behind the scenes should be talked about. 9 winners were the adults in the room behind the scenes who tried to make sure america does not become a deadbeat country. the governability of our system was on trial and we passed the test today. that's the most important thing. >> do you agree? >> no, i think this is a very sad day for this country. >> sad day? sad day because? >> it's a sad day first of all because the president adopted a strategy of vil if ifying opponents and refusing to negotiate and it worked. he got what he wanted on his terms in a way that teaches us what he's going to do next which is vilify his opponents and refuse to negotiate. it's a sad day.

does any rational person believe this new supercommittee meeting dil december 13th is going to accomplish what nobody has accomplished in the last three years? once again, we kick the can down the road. we don't fix obama care which is becoming a fiasco around the country. we don't fix any of our major entitlements. we don't do anything about our debt or transparency in public. we have two old-time leaders cut a secret deal and all of us breathe a sigh of relief and say, oh, this is terrific. the ox is out of the ditch but it's still an ox. >> go ahead. >> you know, i appreciate your passion. i see it differently. the way i look at it, this president did the right thing. the president said listen, i cannot negotiate with a party that has been hijacked by its far right wing. i don't know who to negotiate with. this is not the right way to do business. new you had a neighborhood association and be be had

legitimate concerns and say i want my concerns met or i'm going to burn down the neighborhood, you can't deal with their concerns till you deal with the behavior. the president stood up to the bullying. i'm proud of the president and harry reid today, i'm produced of mcconnell today. i think ted cruz should be ashamed of himself. there's a much better way to get the legitimate concerns of the person people than this sort of stunt. i'm glad it didn't work. here's the deal, nobody wins today but ted cruz loses today. that's very, very important going forward. >> this shows you the gap in this country. every consecutive thinks the bully is the barack obama. he thinks it is ted cruz. it is not healthy as a corrupt to have this big a divide. i predict think the president will further vilify republicans and widening the gap. >> did you read the editorial in "the wall street journal" today? it criticized those republicans who thought it was a good idea to use obama care as leverage to try to deal with the government

shutdown with the debt ceiling. among other things, the conservatives thus undermined whatever small leverage the house gop had left without a united majority of 218 votes, republicans might, as well hand the gavel to senate democratic leader harry reid. jay carney is about to speak over at the white house. get reaction. let's listen in. >> three deputies. >> hi. >> this is pretty much the entirety of the press office staff today. there's a smile. welcome, everyone. thanks for being here, as ever. we can go right to questions because i have no announcements to make. although i'm sure i know the what you're going to ask. julie. >> reporter: would you please give us the white house reaction to the senate deal that was struck today. >> the president believes that the bipartisan agreement announced by the leaders of the united states senate will reopen the government and remove the

threat of economic brinksmanship that has already harmed middle class families, american businesses, and our country's economic standing in the world. the president applauds leader reid and minority leader mcconnell for working together to forge this compromise and encourages the congress to act swiftly to end this shutdown and protect the full faith and credit of the united states of america. >> and i assume that means that he supports the provisions that are included in that including the two dates for opening the government and raising the debt ceiling? >> he. >> he does. he believes this ingredient achieves what's necessary in terms of reopening the government and removing the threat of default and the kind of brinksmanship that we've seen and he, again, we haven't seen legislation move through either house at this point, but so we're not issuing an official statement of administration policy but he looks forward to congress acting so that he can

sign legislation that will reopen the government and remove this threat from our economy. >> is he confident that both the senate and the house will be able to vote on this measure today? >> we leave parliamentary procedures to the congress. we obviously hope that each house will be able to act swiftly because we're already on day 16 i think, correct me if i'm wrong -- of a wholly unnecessary shutdown of government with real consequences for real people. and we are obviously, you know, very close to the point beyond which the united states treasury no longer has the authority to borrow new money to meet our obligations. so as soon as possible is essentially the recommendation we would have from here. >> since we are so close toe

that deadline, are there any operations or procedures that are going in place today? do you prepare for the possibility that congress cannot pass this measure today? >> the treasury is the place that would answer questions like that. what i can tell you is what secretary lew has made clear in his letter to congress and his testimony and that is that the treasury department will the exhaust borrowing authority at the end of the day tomorrow, thursday, october 17th. that beyond that point, the treasury would have only cash on hand. it would not be able to borrow new money to meet obligations. jeff? >>. >> reporter: jay, how confident is the white house that the house will pass this deal? >> we are not putting odds on anything. we're simply applauding the leaders of the senate for reaching the agreement that they've reached and calling on both houses of