Democrats, Republicans fight over US Budget deal
WASHINGTON: With a government shutdown looming in hours, the White House and Congress worked furiously on Friday to break a US budget deadlock that could idle hundreds of thousands of workers.
Democratic and Republican congressional leaders said there was no overall deal on government funding for the rest of the fiscal year that ends on September 30, and could not even agree on what disagreements remain ahead of the midnight Friday deadline. Democrats said the two sides are at odds over a Republican push to include birth control restrictions in the deal, while Republicans said they still differ on roughly $6.5 billion in cuts over current spending levels.
"There's only one reason we do not have an agreement as yet and that issue is spending," House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, told reporters. "We're close to a resolution on the policy issues."
Ratcheting up the rhetoric, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the top Democrat in Congress, said Republicans want to shut down the government because they want to deny funding to women's health clinics. "Republicans want to shut down the government because they think there's nothing more important than keeping women from getting cancer screenings. This is indefensible and everyone should be outraged," Reid said on the Senate floor.
Reid said negotiators had agreed on $38 billion in cuts and the remaining issue was a Republican push to eliminate federal funds for Planned Parenthood, a family planning group that is the country's largest abortion provider.
"The only issue left was women's health," Reid told reporters. "This has been a moving target but now we've come to realize that the moving target is now focused on a bull's eye on women in America."
But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said that he expects lawmakers to reach agreement on a spending plan and avert a government shutdown. "I believe there will be an agreement here shortly," McConnell said in a Senate speech after Reid spoke.
Without an agreement on spending for the next six months, money to operate the government runs out at midnight on Friday (0400 GMT on Saturday) and agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service would begin a partial shutdown. The White House said a shutdown would idle 800,000 federal government workers and put a crimp in the US economic recovery. Vital services such as defense, law enforcement, emergency medical care and air traffic control would continue.
The showdown is the biggest test of leadership for President Barack Obama , a Democrat, and congressional leaders since Republicans made big gains and took control of the House of Representatives in elections last November. The confrontation carries big political risks for both Democrats and Republicans, who could be seen by voters as failing to make compromises.
Reid said Democrats planned to vote on a one-week funding extension with no spending cuts to give more time for negotiations, after Obama threatened to veto a bill passed by the Republican-led House for a one-week extension that included another $12 billion in spending cuts. Under Senate rules, all 100 senators must agree to allow the bill to come up for a vote.
Democratic and Republican congressional leaders said there was no overall deal on government funding for the rest of the fiscal year that ends on September 30, and could not even agree on what disagreements remain ahead of the midnight Friday deadline. Democrats said the two sides are at odds over a Republican push to include birth control restrictions in the deal, while Republicans said they still differ on roughly $6.5 billion in cuts over current spending levels.
"There's only one reason we do not have an agreement as yet and that issue is spending," House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, told reporters. "We're close to a resolution on the policy issues."
Ratcheting up the rhetoric, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the top Democrat in Congress, said Republicans want to shut down the government because they want to deny funding to women's health clinics. "Republicans want to shut down the government because they think there's nothing more important than keeping women from getting cancer screenings. This is indefensible and everyone should be outraged," Reid said on the Senate floor.
Reid said negotiators had agreed on $38 billion in cuts and the remaining issue was a Republican push to eliminate federal funds for Planned Parenthood, a family planning group that is the country's largest abortion provider.
"The only issue left was women's health," Reid told reporters. "This has been a moving target but now we've come to realize that the moving target is now focused on a bull's eye on women in America."
But Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said that he expects lawmakers to reach agreement on a spending plan and avert a government shutdown. "I believe there will be an agreement here shortly," McConnell said in a Senate speech after Reid spoke.
Without an agreement on spending for the next six months, money to operate the government runs out at midnight on Friday (0400 GMT on Saturday) and agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service would begin a partial shutdown. The White House said a shutdown would idle 800,000 federal government workers and put a crimp in the US economic recovery. Vital services such as defense, law enforcement, emergency medical care and air traffic control would continue.
The showdown is the biggest test of leadership for President Barack Obama , a Democrat, and congressional leaders since Republicans made big gains and took control of the House of Representatives in elections last November. The confrontation carries big political risks for both Democrats and Republicans, who could be seen by voters as failing to make compromises.
Reid said Democrats planned to vote on a one-week funding extension with no spending cuts to give more time for negotiations, after Obama threatened to veto a bill passed by the Republican-led House for a one-week extension that included another $12 billion in spending cuts. Under Senate rules, all 100 senators must agree to allow the bill to come up for a vote.
(source:economic times)
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