An examination of the two proposals on the debt limit shows that while there are certainly differences in the details of the plans offered by Speaker Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, there is some common ground that could help bring about a deal in coming days.
It may sound silly to start with this, but the fact that the two proposals share the same name speaks to the possibilities of an agreement, as both Democrats and Republicans labeled their proposals the "Budget Control Act of 2011."
To me, the most interesting "insider" part of this was that Republicans in the House are attaching their plan to a bill that originated in the Senate - that limits the range of delaying tactics that can be used against the measure, especially by Senators opposed to the plan.
The second "insider" bullet point is that while Sen. Reid unveiled his plan on the Senate floor, he did not file cloture to force action on it - clearly waiting to see whether Republicans can get their bill through the House on Wednesday. Could that bill then become the focus for the Senate instead of Reid's plan? It shouldn't be ruled out as a possibility.
While Reid's office on Monday bitterly disputed reports that there had been a bipartisan deal on this legislation over the weekend - and whether it was later presented to President Obama - it is obvious from the legislative drafting of the two plans that there has been a lot of cooperation.
For example, the section dealing with the creation of a "Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction" has much of the same language - except for the fiscal goal for that panel.
The Republican plan reads: "The goal of the joint committee shall be to reduce the deficit by $1,800,000,000,000 or more over the period of fiscal years 2012 to 2021."
The Democratic plan reads: "The goal of the joint committee shall be to reduce the deficit to 3 percent or less of GDP."
The Democrats have one extra section that would allow the joint committee to look at "existing bipartisan plans," which could mean the Gang of Six or last year's Fiscal Commission.
After that, almost the entire rest of this section on the joint committee includes identical language in the Boehner and Reid proposals - that didn't happen just by chance - it's obviously the result of recent negotiation.
What about the levels of spending envisioned under these two plans, how different are they in coming years?
Both agree that for Fiscal Year 2013, which is "next year's" budget, the federal government would spend $1.047 trillion.
For Fiscal Year 2014, Democrats are at $1.068 trillion, Republicans at $1.066 trillion - a difference of $2 billion.
For Fiscal Year 2015, Democrats are at $1.089 trillion, Republicans at $1.086 trillion - a difference of $3 billion.
After FY 2015, the differences expand somewhat. For Fiscal Year 2016, Democrats would spend $1.134 trillion, while Republicans would spend $1.107 trillion, a difference of $27 billion.
But when you think about the size of the budget, $27 billion four years from now really isn't that big of a deal.
As for dealing with the debt limit increase, only the House plan includes the plan advanced by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, which would allow the President to increase the debt limit in a two-step request; the Reid plan simply raises the debt limit to $16.994 trillion.
So, don't get me wrong, the two plans are not the same - but there are a lot of similarities here.
And those similarities could well provide the basis for a deal later this week.
I won't say the "fix is in," but it could be by later in the week.
