I'm surprised I haven't seen a thread about this here yet. What are your thoughts about the looming shutdown, if it even applies to you. I for one am in danger of not getting paid a full paycheck :( Washington (CNN) -- Obama administration officials indicated late Friday afternoon that there was a growing possibility of reaching an 11th-hour budget deal with Republicans that would avoid a partial shutdown of the federal government. We are "more optimistic now than we were four hours ago" about the possibility of getting an agreement, a source at the White House told CNN shortly before 5 p.m. ET. There is a "good chance" that President Barack Obama will speak publicly about the crisis tonight, the source added. The sudden burst of optimism came as top Democratic and Republican negotiators raced against the clock to cobble together a deal. If they fail to do so by midnight, when the current spending authorization measure expires, parts of the government will close down. That means 800,000 government workers would be furloughed and a range of government services would halt, though essential services such as law enforcement would continue to function. Obama discussed the issue over the phone earlier in the day with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, according to White House press secretary Jay Carney. Anticipating a shutdown, he also canceled a planned weekend trip to Williamsburg, Virginia, with his family. As the talks moved ahead, however, leading politicians from both sides of the aisle continued to trade accusations about the cause of the standoff. Democrats said Republicans were hung up on abortion and other issues related to women's health. Republicans insisted that the size of spending reductions was still the main cause of the dispute. "This all deals with women's health. Everything (else) has been resolved. Everything," Reid said Friday morning. "It's an ideological battle. It has nothing to do with fiscal integrity in this country." "If that sounds ridiculous, it's because it is ridiculous," he later added. Republicans have been pushing to strip federal funding from Planned Parenthood during the budget talks. They are also trying to get federal dollars now set aside for family planning and women's health turned into block grants for states, according to a Democratic source. Such a move -- opposed by Democrats -- would give governors and state legislatures more ability to cut funding for services opposed by conservatives. "It's an opportunity for the right wing in the House (of Representatives) to really sock it to women," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California. For his part, Boehner repeatedly disputed Reid's assertion that abortion is the key sticking point. "There's only one reason that we do not have an agreement as yet, and that issue is spending," the speaker said. "We're close to a resolution on policy issues, but I think the American people deserve to know: When will the White House and when will Senate Democrats get serious about cutting spending?" "Most of the policy issues have been dealt with," he later added. But "when (Republicans) say we're serious about cutting spending, we're damn serious about it." Boehner was surrounded by Republican women when he met with reporters -- an apparent reaction to Democratic claims. "We're facing an economic disaster," said Rep. Judy Biggert, R-Illinois. "We have to cut the spending. (It's) not about some other issue that those ... on the other side keep talking about." Reid insisted that negotiators have already agreed on a $38 billion cut from current spending levels for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends September 30. "The speaker is the one who came up with the number," Reid insisted. "We didn't invent it." GOP sources familiar with the talks confirmed Reid's assertion that the two sides had settled on a total of $38 billion, but sources in both parties cautioned that the total could still be raised or lowered a bit. Reid told reporters that, if necessary, he would try to push a one-week funding extension through the Senate in order to give negotiators more time. The measure would cover Pentagon spending for the rest of the fiscal year, he said. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, noted that it would also cut $2 billion in spending. Full article: http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/08/congress.budget/index.html?hpt=T1
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