Looks like all those poison pill policy riders House Republicans attached to the budget — on abortion, the environment, etc — are the big sticking points preventing a deal to fund the government. Which is pretty telling indication of how serious the GOP really is about deficit reduction. Not very.
Harry Reid just said on the Senate floor that he’s less optimistic now than when he left the White House meeting last with the President and Speaker Boehner. The White House just announced Reid and Boehner will return for another session at 1 p.m. ET.