precipes this latest deal doesn t do anything at all to address the appalling situation that the united states is facing today. it increasingly looks like europe, especially countries like greece, spain, portugal, for example, that have been dealing with similar kinds of situation. i have to say, wolf, there have been some individuals in congress, figures like ted cruz, for example, who have stood up on a point of principle, who have stood up, saying america simply cannot afford this huge level of debt and also made the point that obama care is a millstone around the necks of the american people, adding $1.8 trillion of debt to the united states. it s a job killer. it s anti-business. it s a huge tax as well on the american people. there have been some in congress who, i think, have fought on the point of precipes.
down on the next deal to keep this from happening again? if only we had perks like that. right, carol? our vacation policy is not that generous. one thing we should mention is these members of congress have some fence mending to do. look at those approval numbers for members of congress. they are basically down to blood relatives and staffers, as john mccain likes to say. they are even losing some of those relatives and staff members in the middle of all this. speaking of the staff, those staffers will be working on these budget issues while the members are away. and the key conferees from both sides, paul ryan on the house side, people like patty murray, who is on the democratic side. she will be very instrumental in this process ahead. i don t think we ll see as many vacation days from those members of congress. key members will be involved in all of this. keep in mind, carol, the pressure is on. can you imagine if they don t work something out by the middle
and most of the people we ve spoken to today, very happy to say that they can get back to work. will they get their back pay? reporter: we know that congress has agreed to pay these federal workers for the money that was withheld. they re happy to hear that as well. that those missed days where they were not reporting to work, they will get the pay, carol. we re taking a live look at the white house. you can see the doors are open there. back in business. greeting federal workers who were furloughed from the white house. thank you very much. rene marsh reporting live from the smithsonian this morning. still to come in the newsroom. a fight for the future of the republican party. that could be in the making after the shutdown exposed a rift in the republican party. now some are calling it a gop civil war. we ll talk about that, next. you make a great team.
explode. turning the movie gravity into insanity with the spaceship labeled shutdown exploding and the voters untethered, floating off into space. the most succinct announcement of crisis diverted was a tweet by pee-wee herman. no government default. 15 more days till halloween. maybe congress deserves a prize for making a deal. trip to puerto rico. make it one way. why stop finger pointing when you can point to mirrors? jeanne moos, cnn, new york. good morning. i m carol costello. thank you so much for being with me. president obama speaks later this hour. you will hear from him because your government is fully open again. live pictures from outside the air and space museum in
the debt crisis and the shutdown made for some serious headaches but also some hilarious moments if nothing else to laugh to keep from crying. poster boy ted cruz headed for wait a minute, the microphone is back there. about face. not much saving face, as uncle sam turned around the boat before it went over the falls. say good-bye to all those shutdown jokes. our congress today, in case you haven t heard, continued to play our least favorite game show deal or no deal. it s time for let s make a deal. there s not a deal until there s a deal. get this pip like stevie wonder once said, signed, sealed and delivered. lord, we see a faint light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. amen. now that the shutdown and possible default are behind us,