Obama Tries to Avoid Government Shutdown
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 7:25PM President Obama has invited House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to meet with him at the White House at 8:45 p.m. this evening in an attempt to avert the government shutdown that will begin if a budget deal is not worked out by Friday.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the president called the meeting because he "decided that not enough progress has been made."
Lawmakers in the past, have passed a pair of short-resolutions to keep the government running while they've debated a budget bill to last for the rest of the fiscal year, but President Obama said he will not accept another such bill.
A bill was introduced in the GOP-led House on Monday that funds the government for another week and also funds the Department of Defense for the rest of the year. The bill includes $12 billion in spending cuts, as well as a policy rider that would prohibit taxpayer funds for abortions in the District of Columbia.
Mr. Obama and Senate Democrats have rejected this proposal, which is expected to come up for a House vote on Thursday. It appears designed to be used to cast Democrats as responsible if and when a shutdown comes to pass.
The $12 billion in cuts is six times as many cuts as in past short-term resolutions. The House and Senate have passed $10 billion in cuts so far.
Democrats say they are willing to cut $33 billion from the budget and have cast Boehner and the Republican leadership as unwilling to compromise because they are being held hostage by the Tea Party.
In a conference call on Wednesday, a senior administration official told reporters that over 800,000 workers will be furloughed if the government shuts down. Tens of thousands of military personnel would also not immediately be paid and national parks, the Internal Revenue Service and other agencies would be closed.
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