Republicans offer plan to postpone U.S. default
October 10, 2013
(Reuters) – Republicans in the House of Representatives offered a plan on Thursday that would postpone a possible U.S. default and urged President Barack Obama to negotiate an end to the 10-day government shutdown.
The move signaled a new willingness by Republicans to break a standoff of their own making that has thrown America’s future creditworthiness into question.
The proposal is a significant shift for Republicans, who had hoped to use the disruption to extract concessions on spending and healthcare from President Barack Obama. Those goals remain, but the Republican offer would at least push off the threat of default from October 17 until possibly the middle or end of November.