It looks like a meeting of the minds has been reached on the debt ceiling. Both sides appear to agree that the debt limit should extend for a few months rather than a few weeks. The sticking point now is in spending levels for the next year. The GOP wants to keep the sequestration cuts in place - cuts that Harry Reid and the Democrats voted for and President Obama signed - while the Democrats want to get rid of them. Sam Stein: Senate Republicans are holding the line against Democratic demands for a framework to alleviate the across-the-board spending cuts established by sequestration as part of any deal to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling. In talks between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the main sticking point is now where to establish funding levels for the federal government and for how long. The Republican offer made on Friday -- to set spending at sequestration levels of $988 billion...(Read Full Post)