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With a government shutdown looming, US congressional negotiators were due to face off Wednesday in a desperate bid to strike a deal on budget cuts and to keep federal agencies operating beyond Friday. The two sides must resolve differences about which programs to cut to satisfy Republican demands. The size of the package is still at issue as well. Negotiators had tentatively agreed on a figure of $33 billion, but Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner has now shifted the goalposts as he pushes for a new target of $40 billion. Separate negotiating sessions at the White House and the Capitol on Tuesday failed to produce an agreement between Boehner and Democratic leaders, who blamed each other for an impasse that could throw hundreds of thousands of government employees temporarily out of work. The budget showdown is the biggest political test for both parties since Republicans swept to power in the House and made big Senate gains in last year's election on promises to slash government spending and reduce the federal government. President Barack Obama vowed to keep negotiators at work until they agree on a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends September 30. Temporary funding expires at midnight on Friday. "The only question is whether politics or ideology are going to get in the way of preventing a government shutdown," Obama told reporters after the White House meeting failed to find common ground. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid sparked a note of optimism after a private meeting with Boehner. |
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