The possibility that Congress can find a budget that works for both parties grows slimmer by the hour as Washington appears to be headed for the first government shutdown since former President Bill Clinton's first term in office as congressional leaders seem more focused toward pointing blame than coming to a compromise, according to the Wall Street Journal.
As of Monday morning there were no bi-partisan meetings scheduled to try and find some middle ground prior to the midnight deadline. Republicans remain adamant that they will not pass a budget that includes funding for the 3-year-old Affordable Care Act; Democrats refuse to accept any budget that defunds President Obama's signature health care reform law, according to ABC News.
The House passed a bill that would continue to fund the government for the next two-and-a-half months while also completely defunding Obamacare; the Senate stripped the defunding provision from the bill and passed the rest of the budget. It has since been sent back to the House where Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, is expected to formally reject it on Monday, according to ABC News.
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., believes that the House is planning to "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," according to the Washington Post.
Some Republicans appear to be worried that the far right of their party's refusal to accept any sort of compromise will force a shutdown that in the end will be beneficial to Democrats.
"We're pretty much out of options at this point," Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told the Wall Street Journal. "They're all giddy about it. You know who benefits the most here from a shutdown? The Democrats benefit and they know that."
If a deal can't be reached by midnight 800,000 "non-essential" federal employees will be placed on furlough. All of the most important federal jobs including the military and air traffic controllers will remain working although they may not get paid until after the government has reached an agreement. People do not need to worry about Social Security, the checks will still be sent out, and mail will still be delivered, according to ABC News.
