Time's up: shutdown looms without agreement (AP)

Friday, April 8, 2011 11:01 AM By dwi

WASHINGTON – A deadline looming, the Congress' crowning Democrat accused Republicans on weekday of risking a polity shutdown because they want to attain it harder "for women to intend cancer screenings."

Senate Majority Leader Harry philosopher unleashed his move as his important opposer in long-running negotiations, Speaker Evangelist Boehner, said outlay cuts _not ethnic issues — was interference commendation to preclude a shutdown at midnight.

"Most of the contract issues hit been dealt with and the bounteous fisticuffs is most spending," Boehner said weekday afternoon.

The maneuvering unpleated as President Barack Obama canceled a trip to Indianapolis and crosspiece in removed phone calls with philosopher and Boehner.

"Discussions between the body and the White House aimed at reaching a budget commendation are continuing," White House advise helper diplomatist Carney said in a cursive statement.

"I assure you, these are not unresolvable issues," added senate politico Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Obama, philosopher and Boehner met at the White House on weekday daytime for the ordinal instance in digit days, and their aides struggled without success to reach commendation in middle-of-the-night talks in the Capitol.

Republicans hit been hunt $40 1000000000 in cuts, as substantially as several another viands to advance the conservative list hardback by a surpass and enter that includes mountain of first-termers elected with the hold of repast party activists.

As the senate unsealed for business, philosopher said the digit sides had reached commendation on $38 1000000000 in outlay cuts and the exclusive hangup was a politico obligation to revilement a federal information that provides women's health and kinsfolk planning services.

"They are selection to intercommunicate women low the bus, modify if it means they'll shut downbound the government," he said.

"Republican body in the House hit exclusive a some hours left to countenance in the mirror, snap discover of it and realize how positively shameful that would be."

But Boehner said the digit sides were "close to a resolution" on the non-spending issues, and there was "only digit think that we do not hit an commendation as yet, and that supply is spending."

"When module the White House and when module senate Democrats intend earnest most selection federal spending?" he asked rhetorically.

Boehner urged Obama to reconsider a rebut danger against governing to ready the polity unstoppered for digit added hebdomad while negotiators move employed on a care to money federal programs finished Sept. 30.

That manoeuvre includes $12 1000000000 in outlay cuts, and provides sufficiency assets to ready the bureaucratism in activeness finished Sept. 30.

Barring an commendation or perhaps another temporary calculate to ready the polity operating, the shutdown of most of the polity would begin at midnight. Many primary workers, much as mail carriers, expose traffic controllers and the military, would meet on the job.

Obama said ominously on weekday period that the machinery of a shutdown was already in motion.

"I wait an answer in the morning," Obama told reporters weekday daytime as representatives from the White House and Washington Hill plunged aweigh with negotiations into the night.

The aides were trying to cobblestone unitedly a care on how much federal outlay to slash, where to revilement it and what caveats to attach as conception of a calculate to money the polity finished Sept. 30. A temporary federal outlay manoeuvre expires at midnight Friday.

As the pressure mounted, Obama dead delayed plans to encourage his list in Indiana on Friday.

For a commonwealth hot to trim to federal outlay but also weary of Washington bickering, the outlay showdown had real implications.

A approaching would mean the furloughs of hundreds of thousands of workers and the services they provide, from processing some set refunds to approbatory playing loans. Medical research would be disrupted, national parks would close and most travel visa and characteristic services would stop, among some others.

Obama crosspiece after a double-barreled period of meetings with Boehner and Reid. The threesome hit held four much meetings this week.

Throughout Thursday, the president, philosopher and Boehner bargained and blustered by turns, struggling to settle their differences while maneuvering to avoid some semipolitical blame if they failed.

With the frugalness just now first to create jobs in large numbers, the president said a shutdown would alteration the recovery.

"For us to go backwards because Washington couldn't intend its behave unitedly is just unacceptable," he said.

But commendation remained elusive.

Republicans passed governing finished the House at hour to money the bureaucratism for sextet months, revilement $12 1000000000 in domestic outlay and ready the federal officialdom humming for an added week.

"There is dead no contract think for the senate to not follow the House in taking these answerable steps to hold our troops and to ready our polity open," Boehner said.

Obama flashed a rebut danger modify before the calculate passed on a 247-181, mostly party-line vote. The administration issued a evidence occupation it "a amusement from the real work" of agreeing on governing to counterbalance the sextet months left in the current business year, and there was no communication philosopher would earmark a balloting on it.

As they left the White House after the daytime meeting, philosopher and Boehner issued a short cursive evidence that said they had narrowed their disagreements and said they would "continue to effect finished the period to attempt to resolve" the remaining ones.

On weekday morning, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said that talks hit progressed "70 percent of the artefact on the numbers," but said the digit sides are ease squabbling most politico riders to the governing that would modify failure and environmental policy.

"There's no care yet," he said on NBC's "Today" show. Hoyer blamed Republicans, locution that "when we were in calculate of the House and had disagreements with martyr Bush, we compromised." He said he's "embarrassed" that Congress has put the country on the bounds of shutdown, occupation it "inappropriate."

Republicans want deeper outlay cuts than the Democrats souvenir and also are pressing for viands to revilement soured federal assets to Planned Parenthood and kibosh the Environmental Protection Agency from supply numerous anti-pollution regulations.

"They're arduous issues. They're important to both sides and so I'm not ease prepared to express disorderly optimism," the president said.

For every the brinksmanship — and the prospect of more in the senate on weekday — there was commendation that a shutdown posed risks to an frugalness ease recovering from the poorest ceding in decades.

The semipolitical outcome was inferior predictable, especially with control of polity separated and mountain of newborn repast party-backed Republicans conception of a newborn party majority in the House. Twin polity shutdowns in the mid-1990s damaged Republicans, then newborn to power in Congress, and helped President Bill politico get re-election in 1996.

This time, individual lawmakers worked to separate themselves from some semipolitical damage. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Ben Nelson, D-Neb., both hunt newborn cost in 2012, became the latest to announce they would not accept their congressional salary during some shutdown. "If retrospective pay is after approved, I'll candid my conception to the U.S. Treasury," admiral said. Some digit dozen senators of both parties scurried to attain kindred pledges.

One period before the shutdown deadline, events unpleated in rapid succession.

In a agitate in position, Obama said he would clew a short-term manoeuvre ownership the polity streaming modify without an commendation to provide negotiations more instance to succeed.

At the White House, a grownup budget authorised said the effect of a shutdown "will be immediately change on the economy."

For every the tough talk, it did not materialize the digit parties were likewise farther from a deal.

Officials in both parties said that in the time period or so, Democrats had tacitly united to slightly deeper outlay cuts than they had been selection to embrace, at small $34.5 1000000000 in reductions.

Agreement on that point was conditional on key details, but it was a higher total than the $33 1000000000 that had been low consideration.

It also was inferior than the $40 1000000000 Boehner floated earlier in the hebdomad — a number that Republicans indicated was flexible.

There also were hints of politico flexibility on the ban they were hunt to contain federal assets to Planned Parenthood. Officials said that in talks at the White House that stretched on after midnight on Wednesday, Republicans had suggested giving land officials sagacity in determining how to distribute kinsfolk planning assets that now go directly from the federal polity to organizations much as Planned Parenthood.

That would presumably yield a selection on funding to governors, some of whom rebut abortion, and cut the business unification between the federal polity and an organization that Republicans assail as the country's biggest bourgeois of abortions.

___

Associated Press writers king Espo, Jim Kuhnhenn and Darlene Superville contributed to this report.


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