Cordial' shutdown talks under way in Senate

Congressional negotiators had no agreements to report Saturday, but they issued positive reports on their talks to end a partial government shutdown and avert a default on government debt.

"Cordial" was the word Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, used to describe his "preliminary" discussions with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

"Good" discussions were going on among Senate leaders, said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, "so I think all of us want to support those efforts, and hopefully they bear fruit over the weekend."

Supporters stand by representatives and government shutdown

For all the positive talk, the only actions Saturday fell into the "no" category:

--Republican leaders said President Barack Obama rejected their proposal for a six-week debt limit extension.

--The Senate defeated a procedural measure to extend the debt limit with no strings attached.

--Reid said a proposal by a bipartisan group of senators, led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, is no longer on the table because it treated opening the government as a "concession."

Reid continues to demand that any plan include a "clean" bill with no strings attached that raises the debt limit and reopens the government.

Countdown to default

The Treasury Department says it will be unable to pay the government's bills unless the debt limit is increased by Thursday. The partial shutdown of government services has been in effect since October 1.

7 crazy side effects from the shutdown

Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, said Saturday the consequences of a failure to raise the debt limit would be dire for economies around the world. She spoke to CNN's Richard Quest at an Institute of International Finance conference in Washington.

"You know, I've just spent the last two days with representatives of about 188 countries around the world. I wouldn't say they are confident. I would say they are concerned, and they are very anxious to see this crisis resolved, because they know it's going to impact on their economy," Lagarde said.

Senate Democrats meet with president

Senate Democrats met with Obama for 75 minutes Saturday afternoon. A Senate Democratic leadership aide said the party is unified.

"Democrats are willing to negotiate on anything Republicans want to discuss as soon as we reopen the government and pay our bills," said the aide.

 

See CNN.Com for further details