The U.S. government was bracing on Monday for its first shutdown in nearly two decades, with frustrated and weary lawmakers expected to gather at the U.S. Capitol with little hope of finding a compromise that would keep the government in operation past midnight.
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has vowed to reject a funding bill approved by the House early Sunday because it would delay Obama’s signature 2010 health-care law for one year and repeal a tax on medical devices.
Video
The 1995 government shutdowns were bad for Republicans — but politically, the GOP could have much more to lose this time around.
Video
Congressional reporter Ed O'Keefe explains the tax that's being targeted by House Republicans as they try to reach a budget deal -- and put a ding in Obamacare.
Reid will move to table the House amendments when senators convene early Monday afternoon. That exercise requires a simple majority and can be accomplished solely with Democratic votes.
By midafternoon, House GOP leaders are likely to again be facing a decision about how to handle the simple, six-week government funding bill the Senate approved last week.
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) declined to say on “Fox News Sunday” whether Republicans would consider the plan — the only one that President Obama and other Democratic leaders say they will accept. Instead, McCarthy said, Republicans were headed in a different direction, one likely to set up yet another late-night showdown as the midnight shutdown deadline approaches.
McCarthy predicted that the House will “send another provision not to shut the government down but to fund it. And it will have a few other options in there for the Senate to look at.”
[Read about the impact of a shutdown on the national economy and on the economy of the Washington region .]
In a CNN poll released Monday morning, 46 percent of Americans said they would blame Republicans in Congress if the government shuts down, while 36 percent said they would hold President Obama responsible. Thirteen percent of respondents said both Congressional Republicans and the president would be at fault.
U.S. stock markets opened slightly down on Monday, as analysts watched the tense standoff between the political parties, which seems likely to worsen in two weeks when lawmakers must decide whether to raise the debt ceiling.
Unlike other budget crises of the past three years, this one unfolded in slow motion on Sunday. The halls of the Capitol were dark. There were no negotiations, and neither the House nor the Senate was in session.
House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) fumed about Reid’s apparent lack of urgency. “If the Senate stalls until Monday afternoon .
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) has vowed to reject a funding bill approved by the House early Sunday because it would delay Obama’s signature 2010 health-care law for one year and repeal a tax on medical devices.
Video
The 1995 government shutdowns were bad for Republicans — but politically, the GOP could have much more to lose this time around.
Video
Congressional reporter Ed O'Keefe explains the tax that's being targeted by House Republicans as they try to reach a budget deal -- and put a ding in Obamacare.
Reid will move to table the House amendments when senators convene early Monday afternoon. That exercise requires a simple majority and can be accomplished solely with Democratic votes.
By midafternoon, House GOP leaders are likely to again be facing a decision about how to handle the simple, six-week government funding bill the Senate approved last week.
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) declined to say on “Fox News Sunday” whether Republicans would consider the plan — the only one that President Obama and other Democratic leaders say they will accept. Instead, McCarthy said, Republicans were headed in a different direction, one likely to set up yet another late-night showdown as the midnight shutdown deadline approaches.
McCarthy predicted that the House will “send another provision not to shut the government down but to fund it. And it will have a few other options in there for the Senate to look at.”
[Read about the impact of a shutdown on the national economy and on the economy of the Washington region .]
In a CNN poll released Monday morning, 46 percent of Americans said they would blame Republicans in Congress if the government shuts down, while 36 percent said they would hold President Obama responsible. Thirteen percent of respondents said both Congressional Republicans and the president would be at fault.
U.S. stock markets opened slightly down on Monday, as analysts watched the tense standoff between the political parties, which seems likely to worsen in two weeks when lawmakers must decide whether to raise the debt ceiling.
Unlike other budget crises of the past three years, this one unfolded in slow motion on Sunday. The halls of the Capitol were dark. There were no negotiations, and neither the House nor the Senate was in session.
House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) fumed about Reid’s apparent lack of urgency. “If the Senate stalls until Monday afternoon .