The never-ending shutdown drama continues. President Obama and other Democrats pushed Monday for Congress to pass legislation that would increase the debt limit by $1 trillion ahead of the looming October 17 deadline of when the government will run out of money and risk default. Obama, for his part, called on House Speaker John Boehner to hold a vote on a “clean” spending bill, or a short-term, stopgap measure that would last only a few weeks, but would prevent the U.S. economy from going over the brink. Boehner has insisted he would not have the votes for such a bill and has refused to schedule it, although Obama has dared him to schedule the vote. Meanwhile, House Republicans are reportedly quietly discussing a bill to pay nonfurloughed federal employees.