–House Speaker Says GOP Wants ‘Largest Spending Cuts Possible’
–Rep. Boehner: GOP Doesn’t Want To Shut Government Down
–Senate Majority Leader Reid: Now Believes Boehner Wants Shutdown
–Sen. Reid: Two Policy Riders Are Holding Up Agreement
–House Debates New GOP Stop-Gap That Senate Dems, Obama Oppose

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Before heading to the White House for another
meeting with President Obama on the 2011 fiscal year budget, House
Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Thursday
placed blame on the current fiscal impasse squarely on the shoulders of
the other.

Obama, Boehner and Reid are set to meet at the White House at 1
p.m. EDT.

In back-to-back briefings, Boehner and Reid gave starkly different
assessments about the status of the current FY’11 spending talks.

Boehner said the talks focus on both finding the largest level of
spending cuts for FY’11 and including a number of policy riders which
are integral to the GOP agenda in the package. He called these riders
“common sense policy restrictions.”

“There is no agreement on a (spending) number,” Boehner said, but
added there are also “a lot of issues on the table.”

Boehner said he is eager to get a final FY’11 spending agreement
and then move on to the “heavy lifting” of other fiscal matters,
including legislation to increase the debt ceiling.

“All of us want this to be finished,” he said of the months-long
deliberations on the FY’11 spending bill.

Boehner defended the House’s consideration of another temporary
spending bill that would fund the Pentagon for the rest of FY’11 and
fund the rest of the government for one week while cutting an additional
$12 billion. It also includes a host of policy riders.

He said the bill is “precautionary” to keep the federal government
running as the debate on the FY’11 budget continues.

The 2011 fiscal year began on Oct. 1 and the government has run on
six short-term funding bills.

Congress’s most recent temporary spending bill for the 2011 fiscal
year will keep the federal government funded until Friday.

Speaking after Boehner, Reid said that there is a general agreement
on the spending level for the final FY’11 budget, but the Speaker is
insisting on unacceptable policy riders related to women’s health and
environmental issues.

“The issue is not funding,” he said.

He said Boehner is under fierce pressure from the Tea Party wing of
the Republican party that wants a government shutdown.

“They are people cheering for a shutdown,” he said.

When asked if believes Boehner now wants a government shutdown,
Reid said he did.

Reid once again ruled out Senate consideration of the new House
Republican stop-gap spending bill, but said he would support a “clean”
stop-gap.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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