back to you, bret. bret: another standoff. rich, thank you. the administration has said that millions of people may not get government checks if the debt ceiling is not extended by next tuesday. correspondent shannon bream tells us who those people are. you ve heard the administration s warnings about just how many people depend on government programs and payouts. just remember, this is the united states of america. we write 80 million checks a month. there are millions and millions of americans that depend on those checks coming on time. and that s just at the treasury department. the overall number of government checks and electronic payments issued each month is actually much higher. nearly 212 million. they include the bills to contractors, small businesses, big businesses, that do work with the government, the people who manufacture the ammunition that we send to our troops. in afghanistan. and that s not all. take a look at the government checks and electronic payme
4.55%. most of the republicans running for president, or considering it are opposing house speaker boehner s attempt to raise the debt limit. chief political correspondent karl cameron goes down the press list. minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann dismissed the boehner plan to raise the national debt limit beyond $14.3 trillion and vowed to lead the opposition against any increase in federal borrowing. i can t support any plan that begins with the assumption that we have to raise the debt limit, and yet doesn t offer a fundamental restructuring of government spending habits. i won t do it. in texas, this week, governor rick perry, expected to join the presidential race within a month, suggested he too is prepared for a default, downplaying the potential disaster both parties in d.c. predict. this threat that somehow or another the world is going to come to an end, the threat of we re not going to be able to pay our bills is a bit of a stretch. most americans know this
reimburse them in return. so if you averaged out all these checks across the current u.s. population, it would mean roughly 70% of americans are getting some kind of government payment. but we do know that many individuals actually get multiple checks. bret? bret: shannon, thank you. as you look live outside the capitol, it looks peaceful and calm. inside people are scurrying about. we ve just got word from the house majority leader s office that there will be a vote on speaker boehner s bill tonight. we ve also gotten word that a handful of conservative members are right now going to pray in the members chapel. they ve been asked if they re voting yes. they said no. there s still nos, but they re joining in prayer with others. stay with us.
checks across the current u.s. population, it would mean roughly 70% of americans are getting some kind of government payment. but we do know that many individuals actually get multiple checks. bret? bret: shannon, thank you. as you look live outside the capitol, it looks peaceful and calm. inside people are scurrying about. we ve just got word from the house majority leader s office that there will be a vote on speaker boehner s bill tonight. we ve also gotten word that a handful of conservative members are right now going to pray in the members chapel. they ve been asked if they re voting yes. they said no. there s still nos, but they re joining in prayer with others. stay with us.
bret: another standoff. rich, thank you. the administration has said that millions of people may not get government checks if the debt ceiling is not extended by next tuesday. correspondent shannon bream tells us who those people are. you ve heard the administration s warnings about just how many people depend on government programs and payouts. just remember, this is the united states of america. we write 80 million checks a month. there are millions and millions of americans that depend on those checks coming on time. and that s just at the treasury department. the overall number of government checks and electronic payments issued each month is actually much higher. nearly 212 million. they include the bills to contractors, small businesses, big businesses, that do work with the government, the people who manufacture the ammunition that we send to our troops. in afghanistan. and that s not all. take a look at the government checks and electronic payments that went out i