WASHINGTON (AP) - Officials say Senate Democrats intend to introduce legislation by the middle of the week that would raise the nation's debt limit without the type of unrelated conditions Republicans have said they want to add.

The emerging measure is likely to allow President Barack Obama to raise the borrowing limit on his own authority, although it could be blocked if both houses vote to do so.

Republicans have said they want long-term deficit cuts or reforms to benefit programs and perhaps a rollback in environmental rules as the price for raising the current $16.7 trillion debt limit.

But President Obama has ruled out negotiations on the measure, although he has said he is willing to discuss fiscal and other issues with the GOP once the weeklong partial government shutdown is over and the Treasury is free to borrow again.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew says the government will hit that limit within 10 days, if Congress does not take action.

CAPITOL HILL (WUSA/AP/CBS) -- Both Houses broke from the political stalemate after chaos broke out this afternoon outside the Hill. 

Mid-week, House Republicans passed bills to fund national parks and NIH, but the White house calls it "game playing." 

House republicans have scheduled a vote to give furloughed federal workers back-pay if and when the government reopens. Veteran democrats Jim Moran of Virginia and Steny Hoyer of Maryland as well as Republican Frank Wolf of Virginia sponsored the Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act. The vote could come Friday or the weekend. 

But federal workers still on the job will not get paychecks until the shutdown is over, including the officer who rescued the baby girl who witnessed the car chase from the back seat of the suspect's car, and the U.S. Capitol Police officer who was injured while responding to the incident.