With less 12 hours to reach a deal before the federal government runs out of money and shuts down at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow, Congressional leaders and the President have not yet hammered out a plan for a long-term funding bill. Earlier this week the House introduced and passed a week long continuing resolution, but the President and Senate Democrats rejected that bill, saying that they want to pass a long-term bill that funds the government through the end of FY11.
The President has met with House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid every day this week to reach a compromise. While there have been conflicting reports about what is holding up negotiations, reports are that cuts will be somewhere in the range of $33 to $40 billion. Boehner says that the sides have not agreed upon final dollar amounts for spending cuts, while Reid says that a number has been agreed upon and that the sticking point is a series of controversial policy riders that the House Republicans want included in the bill that affect abortion funding and the Environmental Protection Agency.
We will keep you updated on any new developments.
Tags: appropriations, budget, Congress