Is a Government Shutdown Looming? - Politics News - ABC News Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Once again Congress is tied up in knots over how to fund the government — complete with dire warnings that a critical agency, in this case FEMA, is about to run out of money and that the entire government could shut down by week’s end. Congress can’t seem to do anything anymore without going into crisis mode, but top Democrats and Republicans in Congress tell ABC News there is no doubt that this will be resolved.

Sen. Sessions: ‘Surely We'll Be Able to Reach an Agreement’

(WASHINGTON — Amid the saber-rattling on Capitol Hill, there are at least glimmers of optimism about a potential breakthrough before the midnight deadline for a government shutdown.

On Friday, Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, told ABC News that while “every billion is important” in the negotiations, both sides are making “progress” and appear likely to resolve their differences in time.

“Surely we’ll be able to reach an agreement,” said Sessions, R-Ala. “But, you know, when you negotiate you don’t start negotiating with yourself. You don’t start backing off the numbers that you believe in. So you negotiate as hard as you can.”…

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Schumer to ABC News: Boehner 'Will Look Awful' If Gov't Shuts Down

(WASHINGTON) — With a government shutdown looming, the blame game is in full swing. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., tells ABC News that while a shutdown would be “bad for everybody,” the public will judge House Speaker John Boehner as the main reason why it’s happening.

“I think they’re understanding that Speaker Boehner’s unwillingness to deviate from these ideological riders because the Tea Party has him sort of as almost a hostage — they’ll understand that,” Schumer said.

Of Boehner’s statement this week to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that “there’s no daylight between the Tea Party and me,” Schumer said, “I wouldn’t have said that if I were him.  Tea Party is not so popular in the U.S.”

Whether or not there’s a shutdown, he said, “really depends on one man:  John Boehner. He’s caught between a rock and a hard place. The rock are the Tea Party hard-line Congress members. … But the other direction is he’s the head of the Republican Party. And he knows if a shutdown occurs – and if it occurs because of these non-ideological riders like women’s health — he will look awful.”…

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Planned Parenthood Becomes Shutdown Sticking Point

(WASHINGTON) — With the government set to shut down Friday night, Democrats say the only dispute between them and the Republicans is the GOP’s policy rider that would prohibit any federal funding to Planned Parenthood or its affiliates.

“We agreed on a number [of spending cuts]. But we are not — we are not! — bending on women’s health,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters Friday. 

For a debate that could come down to a key women’s reproductive rights issue, there’s surprisingly few, if any, women in the room. 

“I wonder if a couple of women got in the negotiating room they wouldn’t be able to get this thing all wrapped up ASAP, so we can have weekend,” former White House spokesperson Dana Perino Twittered Friday morning…

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Shutdown Showdown: Speaker Boehner Calls on Senate to Pass Short-Term Extension

From @ABCPolitics:

ABC News’ John R. Parkinson and Jonathan Karl report: 

As the clock runs out, House Speaker John Boehner made a brief statement to the press this morning, providing an update on where negotiations stand with Senate Democrats and the White House on a deal to avoid a government shutdown. 

“There’s only one reason that we do not have an agreement as yet, and that issue is spending,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said. “We’re close to a resolution on the policy issues, but I think the American people deserve to know, when will the White House, and when will Senate Democrats get serious about cutting spending?”

Boehner said “a bill that fails to include real spending cuts will hurt job growth and signal that Washington’s not serious about dealing with its spending addiction.” 

The speaker also called on Senate Democrats to pass the House’s short-term one-week continuing resolution that would cut $12 billion while funding the Pentagon through the end of the year. 

“I think the Senate should follow the House lead and pass the troop funding bill and do it today,” Boehner said. “I also believe the president should sign the troop funding bill into law. This is the responsible thing to do to support our troops and to keep our federal government open.” 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has rejected the short-term extension, calling it a “non-starter” in the Senate while President Obama has threatened to veto the legislation. 

Boehner’s statement lasted only 56 seconds. He took no questions.

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Government Shutdown: Employees May Have to Turn In BlackBerrys

(WASHINGTON) — The dark shadow of a government shutdown is hanging over Capitol Hill and congressional offices are planning for the worst — like what to do with the more than one million government-issued BlackBerry cellphones.

Memos are starting to go out informing staffers if they are “essential” or not, and rumors of collection bins for office-issued BlackBerry devices are flying through the hallways.

“We were hopeful maybe it won’t happen yesterday, but after this afternoon…with the president’s veto threat we are thinking this is going to happen.  Reality is setting in.  Everyone’s preparing now,” said one Republican House staffer Thursday.

The House Administration Committee issued a guidance memo Thursday encouraging members to confiscate furloughed employees’ BlackBerry phones and laptops to ensure no one breaks the moratorium on performing official duties.  Over a million BlackBerry cellphones are used by government employees, according to a spokeswoman for RIM, the company that owns BlackBerry…

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Deal Or No Deal? Shutdown Showdown Comes Down to The Wire

(WASHINGTON) — With a little more than a day to go to avert a government shutdown, both sides are still at loggerheads on a bill to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year.

Negotiators worked through the night and President Obama said a 90-minute Oval Office meeting with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., was “productive.”

“I thought the meetings were frank, they were constructive and what they did was narrow the issues and clarify the issues that are still outstanding,” Obama said, adding, “I remain confident that if we are serious about getting something done, we should be able to complete the deal and get it passed and avert a shutdown.” 

Reid said he has “confidence that we can get this done,” but emphasized “we are not there yet.” Boehner, meanwhile, referred to “some honest differences” that continue to prolong the standoff. ..

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What A Government Shutdown Might Look Like

(WASHINGTON) — No one in Washington is saying what exactly a government shutdown would entail if lawmakers can’t reach a deal before Friday on the 2011 fiscal budget, or at least come up with another continuing resolution so things can operate for another week while they keep negotiating.

But if the last shutdown — which spanned 21 days from 1995 into 1996 — is any guide, here’s what might happen initially:

1. No clean-up of toxic waste at Superfund sites.

2. Nobody answering hotlines at the National Institutes of Health.

3. No work on delinquent child-support or bankruptcy cases.

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