According to an article published in the Wall Street Journal of today:
"The partisan logjam that has paralyzed the capital showed signs of easing Wednesday, as conservative Republicans warmed to the idea of a short-term increase in the country's borrowing limit and House GOP leaders prepared for their first meeting with President Barack Obama since the government shutdown began.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, outlined a plan Wednesday to fellow conservatives to extend the nation's borrowing limit for four to six weeks, paired with a framework for broader deficit-reduction talks, according to lawmakers briefed on the proposal. The greater the spending reduction the talks produced, the longer the next extension of the debt ceiling would be under Mr. Ryan's plan.
Top House Republicans prepared to head to the White House Thursday to discuss the issues underlying the standoff that has resulted in the nine-day partial government shutdown and that now threatens the country's ability to borrow.
The White House said the session isn't a negotiation, in keeping with Mr. Obama's demand that lawmakers raise the debt ceiling and fully reopen the government without conditions before policy talks are held. But the meeting may allow House Republicans to say they had a policy conversation with the president, which they have been saying is a condition of resolving the impasse. Mr. Ryan's proposal for a short-term debt-limit increase drew broad support from conservatives at the Capitol Hill meeting, according to lawmakers who attended. Republicans leaving the closed-door session expressed support for a short-term measure even if it doesn't address the 2010 health-care law. Conservatives' efforts to curtail the law sparked the shutdown".
