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April 8, 2011

GOP, Dems Narrow Budget Differences as Deadline Looms 
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Democrat and Republican leaders continue to hold talks on breaking a
U.S. budget deadlock and avoiding a government shutdown. Without an
agreement on spending for the next six months, money to operate the
government runs out at midnight tonight. The two sides are reportedly
just $5 billion apart, but still remain without a deal. Jeff Zients of
the White Housem Office of Management and Budget said a federal shutdown
would impact a range of government services.

Jeff Zients: "If there is a shutdown, it would have very real effects on
services that American people rely on... National parks, national
forests and the Smithsonian Institution would all be closed. The NIH
clinical center will not take new patients, and no new clinical trials
will start. Those filing paper tax returns would not receive tax refunds
from the IRS."

At the White House, President Obama said the talks have made progress
but gaps remain.

President Obama: "We made some progress today. Those differences have
been narrowed. So once again the staff is going to be working tonight,
around the clock, in order to see if we can finally close a deal. But
there are still a few issues that are outstanding. They are difficult
issues. They are important to both sides. And so, I'm not yet prepared
to express wild optimism. But I think we are further along today than we
were yesterday."



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