Sunday 10 April 2011

US announces deal to avert shutdown

WASHINGTON: US House Speaker John Boehner late Friday told fellow Republicans he had reached a deal with the White House to avert a government shutdown with barely more than an hour to spare, officials said.

"We have a deal," Boehner told Republican representatives during an emotionally charged meeting behind closed doors, according to one lawmaker and an aide inside the talks.

Two senior Senate Democratic aides confirmed that lawmakers and the White House had reached an overall deal to slash some 38.5 billion dollars in spending in the rest of the fiscal year that ends October 1.

The overall accord also removed what Democrats had characterized as the biggest stumbling block -- a Republican-crafted measure stripping federal funding from the Planned Parenthood clinics that provide abortions.

With barely more than an hour before a midnight deadline triggering a painful government shutdown, the two sides also agreed to work out a short-term "bridge" funding measure to keep Washington in business for a few days while the main deal is written up. (AFP)

No comments:

Post a Comment