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US Government Budget Talks Reach Final Hours

   VOA News  April 08, 2011
   Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (r) and House Speaker John Boehner
   speak about the continuing budget negotiations after meeting with
   President Obama at the White House, April 7, 2011

Photo: Reuters

   Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (r) and House Speaker John Boehner
   speak about the continuing budget negotiations after meeting with
   President Obama at the White House, April 7, 2011

   The contentious debate over a 2011 budget for the U.S. government is
   down to the final hours Friday, as lawmakers try to avert a government
   shutdown by the end of the day.
   U.S. President Barack Obama said he expects to hear from Republican and
   Democratic congressional leaders early in the day on whether they have
   reached a compromise on a spending plan for the remainder of the fiscal
   year ending September 30.
   Obama met with Senate Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid and
   Republican House Speaker John Boehner at the White House Thursday night
   to try to break the impasse. The congressional leaders said they had
   narrowed the remaining issues, and they appeared to be only about $5
   billion or less apart in the amount of proposed spending cuts.
   In the legislation, Republicans have sought to curb abortion spending
   and curtail environmental regulations, while Democrats want the policy
   provisions removed from the budget bill.
   The president told reporters after the meeting that the two sides had
   made additional progress, but he was not ready to express "wild
   optimism" that a solution will be reached before time runs out. Obama
   postponed a scheduled trip to Indiana Friday.
   If the government shuts down, about 800,000 of 1.9 million federal
   employees would be furloughed, many government services would be
   disrupted and combat troops would not be paid until a budget is passed.
   Obama says a shutdown would hurt the country's economic recovery.
   Republicans and Democrats disagree about how much and where to cut
   spending, and already are blaming each other for the months-long budget
   impasse. Newly elected Tea Party adherents among the Republican
   majority that controls the House of Representatives have sought the
   most extensive spending cuts.
   Senate Majority Leader Reid accused Tea Party supporters of trying to
   enact an "extreme agenda" in pushing for limits on abortion rights and
   enforcement of environmental laws. He said Democrats would willingly
   debate these issues in separate legislation, but insisted they did not
   belong in the budget plan.
   The House on Thursday passed a Republican proposal for a one-week
   spending extension to keep the government running beyond Friday, but
   included some of the policy provisions opposed by Democrats. The Senate
   did not take up the measure, and President Obama threatened to veto it
   if it reached his desk..
   The White House said Obama would support a clean, short-term funding
   measure to allow for enactment of a final bill covering the remaining
   six months of the fiscal year. If the two parties reach a last-minute
   agreement, they still may need to pass another stopgap spending plan
   covering a short period of time until they can approve the broader
   spending package for the remainder of the fiscal year.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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