Threat of Government Shutdown Looms Larger

For weeks, the possibility of a government shutdown has been bandied about in Washington, D.C.. Now the likelihood is only growing larger, The Hill reports.

With less than three weeks before government funding for the year is set to expire, Republicans and Democrats in Congress are moving further away from an agreement to fund the government and raise the debt limit. Both parties say they want to prevent a repeat of the 1995 conflict that indeed led to a shutdown. But already each side is preparing to blame the other.

After Republican leaders in the House doubled their proposed spending cuts last week, Senate Democrats said those reductions would be dead on arrival in their chamber.

“I think the direction of last week is the wrong direction and puts us closer on the path to a shutdown,” says William Hoagland, a former senior aide to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.