http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3d5e6360-612b-11e0-8899-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1IrpIEbCOUS lurches towards government shutdown
The US was lurching towards a government shutdown, as President Barack Obama called congressional leaders back to the White House for a third - and potentially decisive - effort to resolve the increasingly dramatic budget impasse.
As the first partial closure of federal operations since the mid-1990s loomed some 38 hours away, Harry Reid, Senate majority leader, said round-the-clock talks had so far yielded basic agreement on spending levels but no consensus on the nature of the cuts.
Declaring that the US was now ?headed in [the] direction? of a shutdown, Mr Reid identified the Republican determination to include curbs on funding of abortion and environmental regulation in the bill as the main obstacle to an agreement.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the House of Representatives pressed ahead with plans to vote a bill that would extend funding for the military until the end of the fiscal year in September, and the rest of the government until the end of next week to give lawmakers more time to reach a resolution.
But that legislation was dubbed a ?non-starter? by Mr Reid, and is likely to be opposed by the Obama administration, since it includes restrictions on abortions in the District of Columbia, as well as $12bn in new spending cuts, an exceedingly deep pace of reductions.
With pressure intensifying, Mr Obama and Joe Biden, the vice-president, were set to meet at 1pm on Thursday with Mr Reid and John Boehner, Republican leader in the House of Representatives, for the most crucial high-level negotiating session to date. The main players in the talks have already held two summits in the last two days.
Mr Boehner said in a press conference on Thursday morning ahead of the meeting: ?Our goal here is to cut spending not to shut down the government.?
After Wednesday?s meeting, Mr Obama had expressed confidence in an agreement, saying it had served to ?narrow? and ?clarify? the outstanding issues in the talks ? and asserting that a shutdown would be ?inexcusable?.
But he had also pledged to ?go at it again? on Thursday if staffers did not reach a solution overnight.
This is going to get even uglier before it gets better. I thinkpeople rooting for the shutdowntea party fail to grasp the scope of services that will be affected by shuttering the federal government.
From what I have read of your political philosophy, British_Rover, I mostly agree with your views.
As a recent college graduate entering the job market, I was surprised to find the salary numbers that people got in the past are a lot higher then the actual salaries that I got offered to me. At least 5-10k less.
[GOP]Whaaat...? Paying taxes? That's communism.... [/GOP]Well, I read that the only ones that will still get paid after the shutdown, are the representatives.
Now, that is not what I call the proper motivation to find a solution.
By the way: I fail do understand, why you rather let the whole country go to the dogs, than introduce tax increases and cut the military budget. Isn't there some kind of "We all went in this together by living beyond our means, now we all have to bring our sacrifices to pull ourselves out again" understanding? I mean, this whole mess calls for nation-wide solidarity and a joined effort, despite all political differences, or am I just being naive now?
Someone and something's got to give. You cannot save a country from bankruptcy and still having only winners. Ask the Greek.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the House of Representatives pressed ahead with plans to vote a bill that would extend funding for the military until the end of the fiscal year in September, and the rest of the government until the end of next week to give lawmakers more time to reach a resolution.
But that legislation was dubbed a ?non-starter? by Mr Reid, and is likely to be opposed by the Obama administration, since it includes restrictions on abortions in the District of Columbia, as well as $12bn in new spending cuts, an exceedingly deep pace of reductions.
Well, I read that the only ones that will still get paid after the shutdown, are the representatives.
Now, that is not what I call the proper motivation to find a solution.
By the way: I fail do understand, why you rather let the whole country go to the dogs, than introduce tax increases and cut the military budget. Isn't there some kind of "We all went in this together by living beyond our means, now we all have to bring our sacrifices to pull ourselves out again" understanding? I mean, this whole mess calls for nation-wide solidarity and a joined effort, despite all political differences, or am I just being naive now?