generation of republicans in line. and president obama warns, and i'm quoting him now, we are almost out of time, urging all americans to keep the pressure on washington and bring this devastating crisis to an end. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." you're looking at a live picture right now of the house floor, where just a short time from now, we expect to see that critical vote on the gop debt plan. the vote was supposed to happen yesterday around this time, but was abruptly postponed when the house speaker john boehner failed to get the 216 votes it needs for passage. meanwhile, with only days left to solve this unprecedented crisis, wall street is already reeling. stocks posted their worst weekly performance in more than a year while the dow fell about 97 points today. this on the heels of a dismal new economic report out today, showing the country's economic growth has now slowed to a crawl. let's go straight to our congressional correspondent, kate balduan. she's on capitol hill, where it's shaping up to be not only a very long night, but a very long weekend. set the scene for us, kate. >> reporter: the breakthrough for house republican leaders seemed to come early today in a closed-door meeting with republican members. republican members emerged from this meeting and the no votes from last night seemed to turn to yeses. listen here to a couple. >> absolutely, an enthusiastic yes. >> reporter: and why? for the american people who don't understand, why are you an enthusiastic yes? >> because we've got short-term in regard to the cuts, we've got medium-term financial reform in regard to the cap, and we've got long-term financial reform in regard to the balanced budget amendment. >> i'm on board, because i say in there, i see this just as a variation of cut, cap, and balance. a good variation that gets us through this logjam, if you will. >> reporter: so what changed? well, leaders changed the bill, making the second debt ceiling extension, which would happen early next year, contingent upon congressional passage of a balanced budget amendment. the original bill only called for a vote on the amendment, not passage. and this comes as a result of the serious pushback that leaders were getting from conservative members who didn't think the bill went far enough, and it clearly was part of what was holding up the vote last night. but while leaders are not themselves predicting certain victory, i'll tell you, wolf, that members emerging from this meeting, they are, at this point, predicting that they will have the votes to pass this. but the reality is, as we've been talking all along, that if this bill passes, it still seems to be dead on arrival in the senate. listen here to the senate majority leader, harry reid. >> i'm not standing in line to see how many times we can amend the constitution. but you know, if people wanted to vote on that, fine. but as senator schumer pointed out, to show the extremism of these people, the extremism of these people, they're not satisfied with ta vote on it. they want a guarantee that it passed, it passed before they'll allow an extension of the debt limit. i mean, how bizarre can anyone be? >> reporter: bottom line, it looks like once this step, the house vote, this vote is over, and we do have finality here in the house, then the real negotiations, it seems, towards this, whatever the end game is, will begin. wolf? >> the negotiations will begin in the senate first and foremost, and then they'll eventually have to bring members of the house in. we'll see how they work all weekend. kate, thanks very much. let's go to the white house right now, where president obama is warning that washington, quote -- he's warning washington, we are almost out of time. one senior administration official there saying the president has been suffering some sleepless nights lately. our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin is over at the white house with more. jessica, set the scene over at the white house for us a little bit. what's the mood there? >> reporter: wolf, there's deep frustration here that it's friday already and the entire city is waiting on what democrats view as a political exercise in the house, when they feel there's an urgent need for a solution that democrats and republicans can both sign on to to get a compromised bill done. that is the word the white house has been using, but it's also a reality that you need both democrats and republicans to pass something in congress. here was the president earlier today. >> right now the house of representatives is still trying to pass a bill that a majority of republicans and democrats in the senate have already said they won't vote for. it's a plan that would force us to relive this crisis in just a few short months, holding our economy captive to with washington politics once again. in other words, it does not solve the problem. and it has no chance of becoming law. >> reporter: and tonight all eyes will be on two things -- one, to see what speaker boehner and leader cantor say after their bill is voted on. will they signal a willingness to sit down with democrats and talk to them about the next steps? and two, to see what happens in the u.s. senate between harry reid and mitch mcconnell, can they strike a deal. wolf? >> because what happens next is going to be very, very intense. we have one position, the republican house position, there has to be another vote within a few months, basically. this whole process, they have to go through it once again. they have to vote at that time on a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. harry reid, the democrats in the senate say that's a nonstarter. the president says he would veto that. so it looks like they're potentially at an impasse. >> reporter: potentially at an impasse, but again the hope is that there could be some kind of a negotiation between the leaders in the senate, harry reid, the democrat, and mitch mcconnell, the republican. and as you know, vice president biden has had a long relationship with leader mcconnell, and that leader mcconnell has made deals in the past. my understanding is that so far to date, mcconnell and reid have not been able to come to terms and that the republicans are holding out, waiting to see what happens with speaker boehner's vote before negotiating anything. but the hope remains that something will be negotiated after speaker boehner's bill is voted on. here from the white house, i can add, wolf, that it is -- my sources -- my democratic sources are telling me that president obama has not spoken with john boehner still today, that the president has been in touch with other members, both other members on the hill. vice president biden has been in touch both with the house and the senate and staff discussions continue, but still no progress toward a compromised solution. so we remain at that impasse we've within e been at all week wolf. >> so we knew yesterday that the president hasn't spoken to boehner. that continues yet for another day. why doesn't he just pick up the phone and call him and say, john, we've got to do something? >> reporter: it's my understanding that the speaker has been focused on his bill and that has been made clear, that he's focused on getting his bill passed through the house and that it's a sense that right now it's up to congress to get their job done. i'm also given to understand that if it's decided that a meeting here at the white house would be helpful to get things done over the weekend, we could see one added to the schedule, wolf. >> all right. we'll stay in close touch. we'll see what happens. jessica, thank you. president obama is pushing all americans to keep the pressure on washington as time runs out on a deal. and it appears thousands now are doing just that. let's go to cnn's athena jones. she's up on capitol hill where the phone calls, the e-mails, the tweets, they're pouring in, athena, right now. what's going on. >> reporter: peopling are asking, what's the public's role in this? well, as we found out, voters are not staying silent. >> congressman tim murphy's office. >> reporter: it's down to the wire. >> the house will be in order. >> reporter: constituents are flooding congressional offices with calls. ft. again urging americans to make their voices heard. >> so, please, to all the american people, keep it up. make a phone call, send an e-mail, tweet. >> reporter: the obama campaign used their official twitter account to push followers to pick up the phone. >> congressman murphy is working down here to work with both sides. >> reporter: and about an hour after mr. obama spoke, the house administrative office sent out an alert that some phone systems were near capacity, with long wait times. we decided to check it out with one republican. we're here talking to members and their staff about the high volume of phone calls, e-mails, and even facebook messages they're getting from constituents about this debt ceiling vote. i'm going to go in here and talk to congressman tim murphy from pennsylvania. staffers here say the number of phone calls, e-mails, and faxes they're receiving has tripled since last week. what are they saying? where are they coming down on this debt ceiling vote? >> i guess the universal comment is "enough is enough." fix this problem. >> reporter: murphy who made up his mind to support the boehner bill in the last few days says he gets daily updates on constituents' comments. >> reporter: one thing a lot of constituents would ask is does my phone call or my e-mail or my facebook post really matter? has it asked how you made this decision? >> yes, it does matter. and i have told people, the call you don't make, the fax you don't send, the e-mail you don't write, we don't read. but if you send something, we go through them all. >> reporter: dozens of people have taken to facebook to urge the congressman to vote for or against the boehner bill. like this one, "don't compromise what you know to be right in your heart." and this one, "the debt ceiling must be raised now. what is wrong with congress that they can't see that?" and the phones keep ringing. >> congressman mulvanemulvaney' office. >> reporter: now, congressman poe has been on the fence, and earlier this afternoon, he was still undecided. no word yet on whether he's made a decision in the last couple of hours. and wolf, one more thing about those phone calls and e-mails. one congressman's staffer told me, they'd like to see the public this engaged all the time, not just at times like this. wolf? >> athena, thanks very much. athena jones, our newest correspondent up on capitol hill. welcome, athena, to cnn. we're looking forward to a nice, long ride with you. appreciate it. >> reporter: thanks. >> you picked a busy week to start working. bracing on wall street for an unprecedented crisis. just ahead, we'll take you behind investors' growing anxiety as time runs out to raise the debt ceiling. plus, why some now say it's time for the cash-strapped u.s. government to borrow a page from the apple playbook. those details next. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." [ barks ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ whistles ] ♪ [ cat meows ] ♪ [ ting! ] [ male announcer ] travelers can help you protect the things you care about and save money with multi-policy discounts. are you getting the coverage you need and the discounts you deserve? for an agent or quote, call 800-my-coverage or visit travelers.com. some new talk that maybe the u.s. government should consider borrowing a page from the apple ipad. according to the latest statement from the u.s. treasury department, the country has an operating cash balance right now of about $73.8 billion. while as of june, the digital giant was worth a whopping $76.2 billion. > let's go to wall street now where the looming crisis is already taking a toll. cnn's mary snow is in new york. she's joining us with this part of the story. mary? >> well, wolf, stocks had their worst week in a year with stocks down 4% for the week. as one trader put it, people are now just crossing their fingers that a deal will be done by monday. >> we are almost out of time. >> reporter: in washington, an impasse. on wall street, growing anxiety. stocks had their worst week in a year. how nervous are people right now? >> they're very concerned. >> reporter: trader alan valdez says while a deal to raise the debt ceiling is expected to happen, there's also the belief that a downgrade of the u.s. credit rating will happen. and he is bracing for what's to come. not far from his memory, the market losses prompted by the collapse of lehman brothers. >> with lehman, it caught us by shock. but we knew the feds would come in and save the day eventually. right now, there's not that feeling out there. we don't know for sure what's going to happen. >> reporter: one bank took a look at the what-ifs in the worst-case scenario of a first-ever default in u.s. history, even though it doesn't expect it to happen. but if it did, stocks could drop 30% over the next six months according to a credit suisse report. and the economy could shrink by 5% during a period of six months a year. while different scenarios are being. mapped out, behind the scenes, executives from the country's banks met with treasury department officials at the federal reserve in new york. >> these events in washington have gone much further than anybody expected. and so we're all concerned. i mean, that's -- it's not a unique position. they're concerned, we're concerned, everybody's concerned. >> wolf, in a sign of the nervousness, gold, which is considered a safe haven, once again today reached a record high. >> a lot of nervous people out there. mary, thank you. economists now say if there's no deal on raising the debt limit, the end result will likely be a downgrading of the u.s. credit rating and rising interest rates. that's certainly bad news for the economy and for most americans. but it could present an opportunity for some investor who is buy u.s. debt. cnn's casey wian spoke with the head of the world's largest mutual fund. bill gross of the pacific investment management company. >> wolf, pimco is 3,000 miles away from the debt ceiling debate in washington, d.c.. it manages more than $1 trillion in assets. here on its trading floor, the man in charge is paying very close attention. >> will rogers said way back when that he wasn't so much concerned about the return on his money as the return of his money. and today it's the return of your money that's of primary importance. >> reporter: bill gross took most of the $1.3 trillion pimco manages out of u.s. treasuries months before tuesday's debt crisis deadline. this feels to me like a politically manufactured crisis, not necessarily an economic one. is that a fair assessment? >> i think it is. president obama said this morning that we have a aaa credit, but not a aaa government. and to a certain extent, that's true. although we suspect that we're not exactly a aaa credit either. but, yes, the government has proved itself to be dysfunctional. >> reporter: he says if the u.s. defaults and suffers a ratings downgrade, he would likely buy u.s. treasuries again, because their interest payments to investors would rise enough to cover the risk. >> it would make them more attractive to us. our assumption would be if the credit was downgraded to a doubaa or a aa plus, basis points would rise, not just for treasuries, but for mortgages and corporate bonds and private credit, credit cards. and that's obviously a problem for the economy. but for an investor, it makes it more attractive. >> reporter: so if you would be spurred to buy treasuries, if there's a quarter percent increase in the interest rate or perhaps even a half a percent, as some have suggested, i would assume other buyers would come in as well, so where's the crisis? >> the crisis really is in the long-term. 25 basis points or a quarter of a percent is not onerous. to our way of thinking, the u.s. with medicaid and medicare and social security has a $60 trillion liability going forward over the next 20 to 30 years, to the extent that the congress is now addressing the media problem with $1 trillion to $2 trillion worth of cuts. to our way of thinking, they have $58 trillion to go. it's an enormous problem. >> reporter: gross expects a resolution to the debt crisis before tuesday's deadline, but even if that happens, he's very concerned about the long-term implications of the debt on the nation's jobs and economy. wolf? >> casey wian, thanks very much. right now all eyes here in washington on the house of representatives. we're standing by for a critical vote on the gop plan to raise the debt ceiling and it's expected very, very soon. we'll, of course, bring it to you live. we also expect to hear from the house speaker, john boehner. we expect that he will be speaking as well just before the vote. we'll also talk about why some republicans are wondering if boehner has what it takes to keep republicans in line. ♪ ♪ you are my sunshine ♪ my only sunshine ♪ you makes me happy ♪ when skies are grey ♪ you'll never know, dear ♪ how much i love you ♪ please don't take my sunshine away ♪ [ male announcer ] as long as there are babies, they'll be chevy's to bring them home. ♪ how'd you learn to do that? 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[ coughing continues ] log on to lungusa.org and tell washington: don't weaken the clean air act. sure, but let me get a little information first. for broccoli, say one. for toys, say two. toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. what ? please call back between 8 and 5 central standard time. he's in control. goodbye. even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. at ally bank you never have to deal with an endless automated system. you can talk to a real person 24/7. it's just the right thing to do. we're only moments away from the vote on the house floor on raising the nation's debt ceiling. this is a procedural vote that's necessary. in advance of that, we expect to be hearing directly from the speaker of the house, john boehner, immediately before the next vote. stay with us for live coverage. we'll go there, of course, once the speaker starts speaking. meanwhile, other news. a soldier charged in connection with an alleged bomb plot in texas will remain in jail. lisa sylvester is monitoring that and some of the other top stories in "the situation room" right now. what's going on, lisa? >> a judge in texas is ordering that a u.s. army private be held without bond on charges connected to an alleged plot to attack soldiers outside ft. hood. naser jason abdo allegedly told police he planned to bomb a restaurant near the base that's popular with military personnel. at a hearing this morning, abdo reportedly refused to stand when the judge entered the courtroom and then shouted an apparent reference to the 2006 rape of an iraqi girl by u.s. soldiers. it was a solemn day in norway. a memorial for the 77 people killed in two terror attacks last week was held in oslo. speaking at the service, the country's prime minister called it, quote, a vicious attack on all our common values. the service was organized by the youth movement of the labor party, a summer camp organized by the party's youth movement wa