Important Takeaways:

• Washington is closer to its fourth partial shutdown of the U.S. government in a decade with just four days to go
• That would lead to the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and the suspension of a wide range of government services
• The Senate plan, which advanced on a wide bipartisan margin on Tuesday, would fund the government through Nov. 17, giving lawmakers more time to agree on funding levels for the full fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
• House Republicans want much tougher legislation that would stop the flow of immigrants at the U.S. southern border with Mexico and deeper spending cuts than were enacted in June.
• Executive branch agencies were already making preparations for determining which federal workers would remain on the job — without pay until the government is funded — and which ones will be furloughed.
• “The Border Patrol and ICE agencies have to continue to work for nothing” during a shutdown
• The standoff comes four months after Washington flirted with defaulting on the nation’s more than $31 trillion in debt, a move that would have rocked financial markets worldwide.
• Another downgrade of the U.S. credit rating could push borrowing costs – and the nation’s debt – even higher.

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