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Politico
John Boehner
increases chance of government shutdown
By Jake Sherman & John Breshnahan
2/18/11
The specter of a government shutdown grew exponentially Thursday when
House Speaker John Boehner drew a hard line on government spending,
promising to accept not even a temporary government-funding extension
that doesn’t include serious cuts.
The move triggered an immediate and fierce response from Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid, who ramped up a cross-chamber fight
Democrats have been waging against House Republicans for weeks over
whether the GOP spending-cut demands could culminate in a shutdown on
March 4, the date the government runs out of money.
The firestorm was set off on Thursday when Boehner said he was “not
going to move any kind of short-term [spending bill] at current levels.”
“When we say we’re going to cut spending, read my lips: we’re going to
cut spending,” Boehner declared to reporters in the Capitol.
House Republicans are walking a fine-line of sticking to their guns on
spending cuts, while risking a political backlash if Senate Democrats
successfully pin any government shutdown on their unwillingness to
compromise.
For now, Republicans are positioning themselves with a clear message to
Reid and the White House: take our bill cutting current funding levels
by more than $60 billion, or agree to some other cut in the short term,
or risk a government shutdown.
Read the full story at Politico
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