Schumer to ABC News: Boehner 'Will Look Awful' If Gov't Shuts Down

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- With a government shutdown looming, the blame game is in full swing. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., tells ABC News that while a shutdown would be “bad for everybody,” the public will judge House Speaker John Boehner as the main reason why it’s happening.

“I think they're understanding that Speaker Boehner's unwillingness to deviate from these ideological riders because the Tea Party has him sort of as almost a hostage -- they'll understand that,” Schumer said.

Of Boehner’s statement this week to ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that “there’s no daylight between the Tea Party and me,” Schumer said, “I wouldn't have said that if I were him.  Tea Party is not so popular in the U.S.”

Whether or not there’s a shutdown, he said, “really depends on one man:  John Boehner. He's caught between a rock and a hard place. The rock are the Tea Party hard-line Congress members. … But the other direction is he's the head of the Republican Party. And he knows if a shutdown occurs – and if it occurs because of these non-ideological riders like women's health -- he will look awful.”

“So he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. And if you wanted to get a bird's eye view of what's happening, you should be inside Speaker Boehner's brain. That's the only way to tell what's going to happen.”

Schumer asserted that Boehner offered President Obama a firm number for budget cuts – suggesting an agreement that Boehner and his staff say does not exist.

“At the White House last night, Speaker Boehner offered a number: $78 billion -- $78 billion in cuts. The president said we'll take that. And they spent all the rest of the time on the riders. The issue is not spending, but I understand where Speaker Boehner is. If everyone knew it was these riders he'd be in real trouble because no one thinks these riders belong on this bill. And so if it's really spending he should get up and pledge right now, 'I will take the riders off.' ”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Sen. Hatch: Dems' Policies 'Killing Us'; Budget Impasse 'Matter of Principle'

ABC News (WASHINGTON) -- The budget showdown, of course, is about government spending. But ask a member of Congress, and it’s also about principles.

Asked how Congress could be on the verge of shutting down the government over a disagreement of just a few billion dollars, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Friday it’s the Democrats who won’t move off their bargaining position -- and that Republicans are right to stand on principle.

“There's no greater principle than getting this country under spending control. There's no greater principle at this time,” Hatch told ABC News. “I mean, come on. Who's to blame here? Republicans? We didn't control both houses like they did. No, they spent all their time on a lousy health care bill that's going to cost $2.6 trillion and add a huge amount to our total deficit.”

“This is a matter of principle. We just gotta start standing up. And $40 billion? They can't find $40 billion out of $3.8 trillion budget? It just makes ya mad!”

House Speaker John Boehner has already given more than enough ground, Hatch said.

“Boehner's come down from $63 billion to $40 billion. He's got a lot of people who are really upset at how far -- how far we've come down and tried to settle this matter. And now they're going to stop it for $2 billion? Give me a break.”

Hatch continued, “This place is just going to go haywire. And it is haywire because the Democrats have been in charge....I've seen this country go right down the drain because the Democrats' spending policies. And I've got to tell you, they're killing us."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Planned Parenthood Becomes Shutdown Sticking Point

Mark Wilson/Getty Images (file)(WASHINGTON) -- With the government set to shut down Friday night, Democrats say the only dispute between them and the Republicans is the GOP's policy rider that would prohibit any federal funding to Planned Parenthood or its affiliates.

"We agreed on a number [of spending cuts]. But we are not -- we are not! -- bending on women's health," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters Friday.

For a debate that could come down to a key women's reproductive rights issue, there's surprisingly few, if any, women in the room.

"I wonder if a couple of women got in the negotiating room they wouldn't be able to get this thing all wrapped up ASAP, so we can have weekend," former White House spokesperson Dana Perino Twittered Friday morning.

The talks are being led by President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker John Boehner , and Reid. The group of high-ranking officials involved in the talks is also dominated by men: White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, White House legislative affairs director Rob Nabors, Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew, Boehner's Chief of Staff Barry Jackson and Reid's top staffer, David Krone.

The highest-ranking woman involved in the talks appears to be the Senate's number four Democrat, Patty Murray.

"I am really stunned, and I am angry as a woman, that we have come to this after weeks of negotiating on numbers, where we have in principle an agreement on numbers, that there those in the Republican party in the House who are willing to shut down the government, take people's paychecks away from them, because they want to deny women access to health care in this country," Murray said Thursday.

On Friday, she was just as emphatic.

"Women are not going to be thrown under the bus in this country for this agreement," she told reporters.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Boehner Calls on Senate to Pass Short-Term Extension

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- As the clock runs out, House Speaker John Boehner made a brief statement to the press Friday morning, providing an update on where negotiations stand with Senate Democrats and the White House on a deal to avoid a government shutdown.

“There’s only one reason that we do not have an agreement as yet, and that issue is spending,” Boehner, R-Ohio, said. “We’re close to a resolution on the policy issues, but I think the American people deserve to know, when will the White House, and when will Senate Democrats get serious about cutting spending?”

Boehner said, “A bill that fails to include real spending cuts will hurt job growth and signal that Washington’s not serious about dealing with its spending addiction.”

The speaker also called on Senate Democrats to pass the House’s short-term one-week continuing resolution that would cut $12 billion while funding the Pentagon through the end of the year.

“I think the Senate should follow the House lead and pass the troop funding bill and do it today,” Boehner said. “I also believe the president should sign the troop funding bill into law. This is the responsible thing to do to support our troops and to keep our federal government open.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has rejected the short-term extension, calling it a “non-starter” in the Senate while President Obama has threatened to veto the legislation.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

GOP Senator: Government Shutdown May be Worth It

Office of Sen. Ron Johnson(WASHINGTON) -- As House and Senate lawmakers scramble to avert a government shutdown, one Tea Party senator says this is "certainly a fight worth having," even if it means no deal is reached.

Pointing to the $1.6 trillion deficit and a $14 trillion debt the nation currently faces, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., called this week's budget delay "absurd."

"We are talking about, let's face it, pennies when you look at the scheme of the debt," Johnson told ABC News. "We're also, with these continuing resolutions, talking about a budget that should have been passed last year when the Democrats controlled the White House, the House and the Senate."

Johnson said watching the negotiation this week has been frustrating.

"When the other side of the aisle, when their primary strategy is just to point at the Republicans and just shout 'extreme,' that's not taking the situation seriously," Johnson said, referring to a conference call in which reporters overheard Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., telling Democratic colleagues that Republican budget cuts should be painted "extreme."

Johnson arrived in Washington as the first Republican elected to the Senate from Wisconsin in 18 years and is fully committed to Tea Party values: he wants to repeal the health care law, supports a block on Environmental Protection Agency regulations and a balanced-budget amendment.

A political outsider, Johnson ran Pacur LLC, a polyester and plastics manufacturer, until he jumped into the Republican primary in May 2010, defeating his opponents with 85 percent of the vote.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Government Shutdown: Blame Game Played as Clock Ticks

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Republican and Democratic negotiators huddled behind closed doors into the early hours of the morning Friday to hash out a deal, but there is still no deal to avert a government shutdown that will happen Friday night at midnight if no bill is agreed upon.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., denounced Republicans Friday morning, saying they had agreed on how much to cut in spending, but talks have deadlocked on "ideology."

"It's an ideological battle," he said referring to riders to the spending bill that House Republicans are insisting on.  "It has everything to do with ideology on the other side of the Capitol."

Republicans say there's no agreement on the budget cuts and blame Democrats for not being serious about the cuts.

"While nothing will be decided until everything is decided, the largest issue is still spending cuts," said Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.  "The American people want to cut spending to help the private sector create jobs, and the Democrats that run Washington don't."

Reid and Boehner met with President Obama at the White House Thursday night for their fourth meeting this week.  Their aides continued the talks even after that, and will meet again Friday in the afternoon.

The White House says they have met Republicans more than halfway.

Sources said Democrats moved up their number to agree to $34.5 billion in spending cuts.  Republicans came down to $39 billion, but there's squabbling over about $6.5 billion.  Republicans also want to add $2 billion in defense spending, which would be offset by domestic cuts.

Republicans and the president are essentially in a standoff over 0.17 percent of the budget, plus health care services for women.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Government Shutdown: Employees May Have to Turn In BlackBerrys

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The dark shadow of a government shutdown is hanging over Capitol Hill and congressional offices are planning for the worst -- like what to do with the more than one million government-issued BlackBerry cellphones.

Memos are starting to go out informing staffers if they are "essential" or not, and rumors of collection bins for office-issued BlackBerry devices are flying through the hallways.

"We were hopeful maybe it won't happen yesterday, but after this afternoon…with the president's veto threat we are thinking this is going to happen.  Reality is setting in.  Everyone's preparing now," said one Republican House staffer Thursday.

The House Administration Committee issued a guidance memo Thursday encouraging members to confiscate furloughed employees' BlackBerry phones and laptops to ensure no one breaks the moratorium on performing official duties.  Over a million BlackBerry cellphones are used by government employees, according to a spokeswoman for RIM, the company that owns BlackBerry.

"The physical collection does seem a little bit dramatic but certainly the temptation is absolutely there," said the staffer, who asked not to be named because shutdown plans have not been made public yet.  "For a lot of us this is our life and to say well, no, we have to put it on hold is very tough.  I can't imagine it.  'Just sit back and stay at home' sounds like it would be great, but it's definitely not."

Rep. Thad McCotter, R-Mich., said he will not collect his furloughed staffers' cellphones.

"You don't need to go around like you're disarming them.  They are responsible adults.  I trust them not to use them," McCotter said.

The committee's guidance was rather vague on which staff members are "essential" and which should be furloughed, saying only employees whose work is necessary to fulfill a member's constitutional responsibilities, safeguard human life or protect property are "essential."

There is no consensus on just how many employees will stay in the event of a shutdown.  Some offices have said they will keep their entire staffs.  Others, like McCotter's office, has said every staff member will be furloughed.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Democrat Manchin Doesn't Think Obama is Showing Leadership in Shutdown Standoff

Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- With under 30 hours left before the government will shut down if both parties cannot agree on a budget deal, one Democratic senator is blaming President Obama for ineffective leadership.

“Is the President showing enough leadership?” ABC News’ Jonathan Karl asked West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin Thursday.

“Ah, it’s a different form of leadership,” Manchin replied.

“What do you mean?”

“You know I’m not going to criticize,” Manchin said, before adding, “It’s not what I’m used to and it’s not what I've seen to be effective from my vantage point.”

“Is it working?” Karl asked.

“It doesn’t seem to be working because I think the President’s the only one who looks at all 50 states,” Manchin replied. “There’s not going to be a delegate or congressperson or senator that’s going to see all 50 states the way one person sees it. I’m going to look at what’s good for West Virginia and what hurts West Virginia more if you do this or that and I’m going to defend it, as I’m responsible to do and as I’m expected to do. And everyone else the same.”

“There’s one person who can say wait a minute, this is what’s good for all America,” Manchin continued. “This is who we are as Americans. These are our values as Americans and this is where we draw the line. And the public will speak. They’ll have a chance to speak at the next election. But frankly I don’t care and I’m not worried about the next election.  If we don’t get our financial house in order...our next generation isn’t going to have a chance.”

Manchin Thursday said that if the government shuts down he will return his salary to the U.S. Treasury, calling on the president, the vice president, and other members of Congress to do the same.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

'I'm Not Nearly as Optimistic': Democratic Leader Predicts Shutdown

Reid [dot] Senate [dot] gov(WASHINGTON) -- One of the key negotiators in budget talks expressed little optimism that a deal would be reached in time to avoid a government shutdown Friday night.

"The numbers are basically there," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday.  "But I am not as nearly as optimistic -- and that's an understatement -- as I was 11 hours ago.  The numbers are extremely close."

Reid took to the Senate floor Thursday morning to say the two sides have come to an agreement on spending cuts, but are still at odds over extraneous "ideological matters."

"If this government shuts down -- and it looks like it's headed in that direction -- it's going to be based on my friends in the House of Representatives," he said.

Reid is accusing Republicans of holding up a deal because they are insisting on keeping so-called "riders" -- amendments that passed in the House -- related to government funding for abortion and limiting the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to enforce restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.  He additionally blamed the situation on "rambunctious" freshman Republicans in the House.

Aides to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, say Reid is not telling the truth.  They insist they are still negotiating on numbers and "nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to."

"What Sen. Reid said is not correct," said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel.  "There is no agreement on spending cuts or policy."

Republicans also say they would not block a deal over abortion, but are simply asking for a provision that would ban the District of Columbia government from funding abortion.  They say Reid himself has previously supported this several times.

"We are not budging on abortion," one Democratic source told ABC News.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

No Deal Yet After White House Budget Meeting

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- After a late night, 90-minute meeting Wednesday in the Oval Office with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner, President Obama declared no deal in the budget standoff but still called the meeting "productive" and is confident a deal can get done before a government shutdown comes.

"I thought the meetings were frank, they were constructive and what they did was narrow the issues and clarify the issues that are still outstanding," Obama said, though he declined to elaborate on the sticking points.

"I remain confident that if we are serious about getting something done, we should be able to complete the deal and get it passed and avert a shutdown.  But it’s going to require a sufficient sense of urgency from all parties involved.  It means the people will have to recognize that a government shutdown has real consequences for real people," Obama said from the podium in the briefing room. 

Obama vowed an around-the-clock effort and promised a status check Thursday morning.

"If we haven't made progress, we're going to go back at it again.  And we're going to keep on pounding away at this thing because I'm absolutely convinced that we can get this done," Obama said.  "There’s no reason why we should not be able to complete a deal."

After Obama finished making his points, Boehner and Reid took their turn in front of the cameras, making their respective points outside the White House.

Describing the meeting, Reid said, "It was very honest, we’ve narrowed the issues significantly and we’re going to continue working.  Our staffs are going to work through the night.  The speaker and I will get back together tomorrow morning and see how they did and continue.  I have confidence that we can get this done.  We are not there yet but the hope lies eternal."

Boehner echoed Reid but added his own twist, saying no numbers or policy have been settled.

"We did have a productive conversation this evening," Boehner said.  "We do have some honest differences but I do think we made some progress.  But I want to reiterate that there is no agreement on a number and there is no agreement on the policy.  But there’s an intent on both sides to continue to work together to try to resolve this.  No one wants the government to shut down.  We are going to continue to work throughout the night and tomorrow."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio