they are set to convene. joining me now, policy reporter for the washington post. good morning, zachary. >> good morning. >> so we are seeing some promise to resolving this debt ceiling crisis. give us a sign washington is close to a deal. >> well, there are basically two tracks right now, one in the house and one in the senate and both have promise. although the white house seems to prefer the track on the senate, which would essentially kick this battle into early 2014, extending the government funding bill through march and raising the debt limit through january. >> that would be contingent on a few fig leaves, a delay in the medical device tax as well as changes to make sure low income people getting subsidies are reporting their income correctly. there is hope that can be the best effort. there are still a lot of barriers left. not enough time to raise the debt limit. >> i think that said, doesn't it