April 8, 2011 10:13 AM Government shutdown: Can they make a deal?

Posted by Stephanie Condon
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio listens at left, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 7, 2011, after their meeting with President Obama regarding the budget and possible government shutdown.
(Credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)


By Friday morning, with just hours left for Congress to avert a government shutdown, Republicans and Democrats seemed closer than ever to reaching a budget deal. But at the same time, the negotiations seemed as intractable as ever.



Democrats say Republicans are prepared to shut down the government over a women's health policy rider. Republicans say Democrats still need to "get serious" about spending cuts. Whatever the case may be, if Congress doesn't pass a budget for the rest of the fiscal year by midnight tonight, the federal government will in part stop operating.



President Obama huddled with House Spekaer John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the Oval Office again on Thursday night, and negotiations on Capitol Hill lasted until 3 a.m. early Friday morning. A Democratic aide told CBS News Capitol Hill Correspondent Nancy Cordes that Mr. Obama agreed to a number "higher than $34.5 billion" in spending cuts to include in the six-month budget bill. On top of that, the aide says negotiators "settled" just about every policy issue Republicans wanted to include in the bill -- for instance, a policy rider over the Environmental Protection Agency is now off the table.



However, Democrats say talks remain stalled over a GOP policy rider to cut Title 10 funding, which provides a few hundred million in grants for clinics like Planned Parenthood.



"This all deals with women's health," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this morning. "Everything has been resolved, everything... that is the only issue that was left undone when we left the White House last night."


"We agreed on spending cuts, and they still are not happy," he added.
Republicans insist there is no agreement on how much spending to cut from the budget.



Budget battle: What are the sticking points?
What a government shutdown means for you
Bob Schieffer: Congress' behavior "shameful"
"While nothing will be decided until everything is decided, the largest issue is still spending cuts," said Michael Steel, a spokesperson for House Speaker John Boehner. "The American people want to cut spending to help the private sector create jobs - and the Democrats that run Washington don't."


Additionally, an aide for Boehner told CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller that Democrats need to "get serious" about spending cuts. The aide said, "The lack of substantial cuts is at the core [of the continued disagreement]. For the most part all policy points have resolution or are close to resolution."



Another congressional aide close to the negotiations told CBS News' Nancy Cordes that, as negotiations stand right now, Democrats have conceded to Republicans on about a dozen policy riders, including one that would prohibit any federal funding for transferring prisoners from Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. for imprisonment or trial.


As for the Title 10 funding, a Democratic aide told Cordes that Republicans want that money given to states in the form of block grants, apparently so Republic governors would have discretion to funnel that money elsewhere. Democrats oppose that idea, and the aide said they offered Republicans a standalone vote on that rider outside the funding bill. Republicans said no.


Mr. Obama plans to call Boehner and Reid mid-morning Friday for an update on the negotiations.