Debt bill passes House, Dems split down the middle. Details here.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords makes first return to House since Jan. 8th shooting to cast vote in favor of debt deal.
Office press release after the jump … Read More
The ridiculous, self-inflicted debt ceiling-fest cost the US government $1.7 billion $17 million dollars. That’s the amount of additional interest the USG had to pay investors when it went into the market to sell Treasury bills on Monday.
Quoting CNNMoney: “To be precise, the extra cost is $1,721,250,000 more in interest payments than the government would have needed to pay investors just two weeks ago, when they were willing to accept far lower rates before the debt ceiling became a crisis.”
Late Update: Hrrrmmrrm. As one reader has pointed out, the $1.7 billion figure cited by CNN doesn’t seem to add up. It seems dramatically higher than the math suggests — maybe an order of magnitude off. I’m not a financial journalist and the CNNMoney folks are. So I’m not going to say they’re wrong. It’s quite possible there’s a part of the math or their explanation I don’t understand. But let me take back my restatement of their numbers. I’m going to leave the post up for the record.
Later Update: And now CNN has updated their number, revising it from $1.7 billion to $17 million. Not chicken but quite a difference.
Could the Washington debt deal sap Democratic momentum in the Wisconsin recalls?
The Senate has just hauled this debt deal across the finish line, in a vote of 74-26.
It now heads to President Obama’s desk, with the U.S. having averted a default deadline by a matter of hours.
Safe to say no one’s really covered themselves with glory here, some certainly less so than others. Brian Beutler has our wrap.
Wisconsin Dems say their internal polls show them on track to retake control of the state senate in the upcoming recall elections.
According to a new Gallup study, what religious group is the most optimistic about their future in America, both economically and civically? American Muslims.
New PAC working to defeat President Obama as soon as they figure out how to spell his name.