DEFER OR DEFAULT? Senate Closes In On Deal... Must Get Through The House... GOP Rep: Boehner Will Be Lucky To Find 20 Republicans To Support ....Senate Budget Deal Takes Shape, Facing Tough Odds To Avert Default

Reid and McConnell

WASHINGTON -- Whatever deal emerges from overnight negotiations in the Senate, Republican lawmakers said they weren't sure it could pass quickly enough in their chamber to avert a default -- or that it would ever see the light of day in the House.

The Treasury Department has warned that sometime on Thursday it may no longer have enough cash on hand to pay all the nation's obligations, setting up a potential default that economists have warned repeatedly may have catastrophic economic consequences.

As of Monday evening, the contours of a deal included reopening the government through Jan. 15 and extending the debt limit until Feb. 15. Both chambers also would have to appoint representatives for a budget conference that would end on or around Dec. 15, with the goal of agreeing to framework for deficit-reduction. Changes to President Barack Obama's health care law would be minimal: Democrats would get a delay of a reinsurance tax to benefit unions, while Republicans would get income verification for Obamacare exchanges. read more