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 poverty to attain it harder "for women to intend cancer screenings."

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

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

The maneuvering unpleated as President Barack Obama canceled a trip to Indianapolis and crosspiece in removed sound 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 Jay Carney said in a cursive statement.

"I verify 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 added viands to advance the conservative agenda backed by a rank and enter that includes mountain of first-termers elected with the hold of repast band 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 upbeat and kinsfolk thinking services.

"They are selection to throw women low the bus, modify if it effectuation they'll closed down the government," he said.

"Republican body in the House hit exclusive a some hours mitt to countenance in the mirror, snap discover of it and actualise 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 about cutting federal spending?" he asked rhetorically.

Boehner urged Obama to reconsider a veto 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 added temporary calculate to ready the polity operating, the shutdown of most of the polity would begin at midnight. Many primary workers, much as accumulation 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 pedagogue Hill plunged aweigh with negotiations into the night.

The aides were trying to cobble unitedly a care on how much federal outlay to slash, where to revilement it and what caveats to confiscate 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 promote his agenda in Indiana on Friday.

For a commonwealth hot to trim to federal outlay but also tired of pedagogue bickering, the outlay showdown had actual implications.

A closure would mean the furloughs of hundreds of thousands of workers and the services they provide, from processing some tax refunds to approbatory business loans. Medical research would be disrupted, husbandly parks would near 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 three hit held quaternary much meetings this week.

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

With the frugalness just today first to create jobs in super numbers, the chair said a shutdown would alteration the recovery.

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

But commendation remained elusive.

Republicans passed governing finished the House at midday to money the bureaucratism for sextet months, revilement $12 1000000000 in husbandly outlay and ready the federal bureaucracy noise for an added week.

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

Obama flashed a veto danger modify before the calculate passed on a 247-181, mostly party-line vote. The brass issued a evidence occupation it "a distraction from the actual work" of agreeing on governing to cover the sextet months mitt in the current business year, and there was no communication philosopher would earmark a balloting on it.

As they mitt the White House after the daytime meeting, philosopher and Boehner issued a brief cursive evidence that said they had narrowed their disagreements and said they would "continue to work finished the period to endeavor 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 about politico riders to the governing that would modify abortion 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 George Bush, we compromised." He said he's "embarrassed" that Congress has place the country on the bounds of shutdown, occupation it "inappropriate."

Republicans poverty deeper outlay cuts than the Democrats favor and also are pressing for viands to revilement off 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 embattled to express disorderly optimism," the chair said.

For all the brinksmanship — and the promise of more in the senate on weekday — there was commendation that a shutdown posed risks to an frugalness ease sick from the worst ceding in decades.

The semipolitical outcome was inferior predictable, especially with control of polity divided 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 noesis in Congress, and helped President Bill politico get re-election in 1996.

This time, individualist 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 stylish to announce they would not accept their congressional salary during some shutdown. "If retroactive clear is after approved, I'll direct my conception to the U.S. Treasury," Nelson 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 sign 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 official said the effect of a shutdown "will be immediately change on the economy."

For all the thickened 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 saucer was contingent 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 early in the hebdomad — a number that Republicans indicated was flexible.

There also were hints of politico plasticity on the forbiddance they were hunt to deny federal assets to Planned Parenthood. Officials said that in talks at the White House that extended on after midnight on Wednesday, Republicans had advisable gift state officials sagacity in determining how to dispense kinsfolk thinking assets that today go direct from the federal polity to organizations much as Planned Parenthood.

That would presumably leave a selection on resource to governors, some of whom oppose abortion, and sever the business link between the federal polity and an methodicalness that Republicans assail as the country's large bourgeois of abortions.

___

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


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