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By Gao Xiaohui Despite cautious confidence from both Democrats and Republicans for agreed budget cuts, ongoing closed-door negotiations continued on Capitol Hill Thursday in a last-minute rush to avert a possible government shutdown before today's deadline. "No one wants the government to shut down," House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, a Republican, said Thursday. He said "some progress" had been made during Wednesday's "frank" and "constructive" 90-minute talk among congressional negotiators. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat who also attended the meeting, said, "I have confidence we can get this done." If the budget stalemate continues, the temporary funding will run dry to keep federal agencies operating. House Republicans pushed a plan Thursday that would hold off for another week the threat of a government shutdown, but Democrats pressing for a longer-term solution rejected the short-term approach as a political maneuver, according to the AP. The face-off is the most overt clash yet between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republicans, and it could go a long way toward defining the early terrain of the president's 2012 re-election bid. The budget impasse centers on where to make the deepest cuts, with Republicans demanding sweeping slashes in domestic spending, foreign aid and policy changes, and with Democrats hanging onto education and environmental programs high as targets. Moreover, the "number" to be removed from the 2011 fiscal year budget, which is already heavily burdened with deficits, is also a topic heatedly argued between two parties. Shortly before Wednesday's White House meeting, a Democratic aide in Congress was quoted by Reuters as saying that the total spending cuts for this year, in the deal being negotiated, would probably end up being closer to $33 billion, rather than the Republicans' $40 billion target. However, "a difference of around $10 billion or $20 billion doesn't mean much when compared with the $1.5 trillion US economy," Sun Zhe, a professor of international relations at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times. Even so, the fragile US recovery will definitely take another hit if the temporary layoff of 800,000 federal workers comes true due to a possible partial closure of the federal government. While urging major parties to "keep on pounding away at this thing," Obama has warned of economic "ramifications" for small business owners, applicants for home loans and workers who would suffer if their salaries aren't paid or come late. Several national security and counter-terrorism officials said these agencies had elaborate plans for furloughs if Congress and the White House fail to agree on a budget plan to keep the government funded, according to Reuters. Agencies contributed to this story |
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