The government shutdown has entered its second week -- with the debt ceiling deadline coming up on Thursday.

OSU Cascaddes Political Science Professor Jim Foster thinks they will reach an agreement, but he fears if they wait to the last minute, damage will already be done.

"So even if we do get an agreement by the 17th, there can still be a lot of economic damage done.  And need we all be reminded that this is still a slow, halting economy and still leaves a lot of people out of work or under employment and hurting in a lot of ways."

The potential outline of a Senate deal includes keeping the government funded through January 15th and raising the debt limit through February 15th.

The House is floating its own bill to extend the debt ceiling.