They want it so bad, that now Obama is looking to facilitate himself. So, the question will then be....will Obama's literally shutting it down by way of veto, still be twisted as Government shut down by the Republicans? Despite the fact its only been Republicans presenting actual budgets to pass, Dems having been AWOL on the subject, since before last year's elections
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Obama vows to veto short-term billThe White House has vowed to veto the short-term spending bill House Republicans will vote on this afternoon, taking away the safety net that could have given both sides another week to avert a government shutdown.
Without a short-term extension, the options would be narrowed to either a broad successful deal or a shutdown as of midnight Friday.
?If presented with this bill, the president will veto it,? the White House said in an official statement of policy.
The House bill would extend the shutdown deadline by another week, to April 15, while funding defense needs for the rest of this year so that troops? paychecks would not be endangered by a shutdown.
Meanwhile, negotiations on a broader year-long bill appeared to be foundering.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday morning said it now ?looks like it?s headed in that direction? when current funding runs out at midnight Friday.
Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat, met for 90 minutes late Wednesday with Mr. Obama and House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, as they tried to work out a last-minute agreement to avert a shutdown, and Mr. Reid said he was optimistic after that meeting.
But just 11 hours later, he said that optimism had faded as the two sides have deadlocked over legislative add-ons, known as ?policy riders,? such as restricting federal funding for Planned Parenthood and halting environmental rules.
?The only thing ? only thing ? holding up agreement is ideology,? Mr. Reid said on the Senate floor.
Mr. Reid objects to the inclusion of any major policy riders. But House Republicans included many of them in the year-long funding bill they passed in February that also cut $61 billion from 2010 spending levels.
Mr. Reid objects to the inclusion of any major policy riders. But House Republicans included many of them in the year-long funding bill they passed in February that also cut $61 billion from 2010 spending levels.
Republicans have argued that Democrats need either to accept more cuts or to accept some of those policy riders.
Like Mr. Obama, Mr. Reid rejected the House?s short-term spending bill as a viable alternative.
The short-term bill would fund the Defense Department through the rest of this year, guaranteeing the troops would continue to get paychecks even in the event of a shutdown.
It also includes a policy rider to ban taxpayer-funded abortions in the District of Columbia, which as a federal district is under Congress? control. Republicans said that policy has been accepted in the past by Mr. Obama and Democratic leaders.
Mr. Reid and other Senate Democrats on Thursday called the policy riders the main sticking point to a deal, but Republicans defended them.
?Americans are concerned not just about how much we?re spending, but how we?re spending it. That?s why the policy provisions are an important part of this discussion,? said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner.
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