the white house responded by saying, if the senate passes that, and it won t, the president will veto it. a recipe for a government shutdown. mike? peggy? the budget battle is a story about politics but it s about people. millions of americans could be affected as soon as tomorrow morning if the government shuts down. jake tapper has the details. reporter: we told you the story of louisville, kentucky s, jt henderson, his wife, and adopted son. worried about getting their tax refund because of a possible shutdown. if i could speak directly to the president and the congress fall leadership, i would just say that reporter: and at least one negotiator was watching. jt if you could speak to us directly in washington, he would tell us all this political grand standing has effects. as it trickles down the normal, everyday americans. there s no reason why we should not be able to complete a deal unless we ve made a decision that politics the more important
on a number and there s no agreement on the policy rider. i have confidence we can get this done. we re not there yet. if it s shut down it s because harry reid refuses to sit and negotiate. i understand how bad congress looks from the inside because i m one of them. jt said if he could speak to all of us in washington, he would tell you that all of this political grandstanding has effects, and it trickles down to normal, everyday americans. if they stopped our federal paychecks it would have a devastating affect on us. it s not fair they get to choose how and when stuff doesn t open and stuff. here s the best part about this government shutdown. you know that members of congress will still get paid. nobody else will, but they will. it will be just like it is now. we ll be paying them to do nothing. it will be exactly like it is now. we did find evidence of widespread cracking across this entire fracture surface. we need to have a more proactive way to find the cracks
than folks like jt henderson. reporter: jt henderson said he appreciated the president hearing his concerns. it came as a shock, but it was a good thing. reporter: but he would blame both sides for any shutdown. i don t hold one party responsible over the other. i think it s a case of business as usual in washington. reporter: also affected, the military. freshly back at fort campbell, kentucky, after his third tour in afghanistan, this staff sergeant enjoyed a meal with his family. a government shutdown will not mean that soldiers like this stop fighting. but it would mean he and his wife, a federal employee, would not be paid. if they stopped our paychecks it would have a devastating effect. with children and daily life expenses don t go away. reporter: so such problem for president obama, house speaker john boehner, or congressional leaders, they are paid no matter what. even if they cannot hammer out a deal. a cruel irony not lost on military families with loved ones
pointing fingers, and laying blame. but president obama and the democrats don t want to. and speaking they don t have a budget. they don t want cuts. they want to keep spending. we don t have the money. i think they re going to have a real problem with the american electorate. they don t got the money, they don t got the time. i ve got to run, but thank you both so much, we appreciate it. all right. so now it is time for the flip side, where we take a look at the story behind the headlines. but we re going to do something a little different about this today as the budget battle continues on capitol hill. it s easy to get bored by the numbers and the stats and forget that there are humans and human sides to all of the stories. last night, president obama told reporters, he was reminded of how government shutting down could effect just the average american. a man from kentucky named jt henderson, he said, he s counting on his tax rebate, because his family has been scraping b
washington, he would tell us that all of this political grandstanding has effects, as it trickles down to normal, everyday americans. i could not have said it better myself. joining us now is jt henderson. jt, what was it like to hear president obama invoke your name there, and also what are the effects that you and your family are going to directly feel? thanks for having me, thomas. it was an absolute honor to be mentioned by the president. and just to realize that in this democratic process, the little people can still be heard, and we can still have an effect on our elected leaders. so i m very honored that the president felt our story was compelling enough to share with the american government. now, let me also say this. my wife and son and i live check to check. and it s tough times. but we have been blessed beyond measure, and we have it a lot better than a lot of americans. including our soldiers who could be losing their paycheckses because of this government shutdown. and