Lawmakers downplay risk of US government shutdown

WASHINGTON (AFP) – American lawmakers, battling over spending cuts, minimized the risk Sunday that the fierce debate between Republicans and Democrats would lead to a shutdown of the US government.

“We’re not looking for a government shutdown, but at the same time we’re also not looking at rubber stamping these really high elevated spending levels that Congress blew through the joint two years ago,” said Representative Paul Ryan, chairman of the House budget committee, told CBS News.

“We don’t want to accept these extremely high levels of spending while we negotiate how to continue funding the government.”

Leaders of both parties have been playing budgetary brinksmanship over bills to keep the government up and running.

In the early hours Saturday, newly empowered Republicans voted to cut about $61 billion in government spending.

But Democrats in Congress and President Barack Obama’s administration, while also vowing cuts, immediately criticized the plan as dangerous in a slow economy.

They say the Republican budget cannot pass through the Democrat-controlled Senate, leaving open the possibility that the government could run out of cash.

“There are estimates that about 800,000 Americans would lose their jobs if you do this in a reckless manner,” Democrat Chris Van Hollen said of deep cuts in the midst of the country’s slow economic recovery.

“We think that’s the wrong approach to this. We think we need to get the economy fully in gear, put together a plan now for cuts and frankly we need to look at the revenue piece.”

The government is currently funded through a stopgap spending measure expiring March 4, a result of congressional disagreement last year. A shutdown could delay Social Security checks, tax refunds and payments for veterans, Democrats claim.

A similar standoff in 1995 forced a government shutdown widely viewed as having backfired on the Republicans who then controlled Congress.

Republican Senator Tom Coburn said on Fox News Sunday, however, that the threat of a shutdown was slim.

“You know, it’s good for political rhetoric to talk about a government shutdown. But I don’t know anybody that wants that to happen,” he said, calling for “cooler heads.”

For her part, Democrat Claire McCaskill said she hoped lawmakers would behave “like adults” and work out a solution.

“The bottom line is we all want cuts,” she said. “We can find a compromise. We can make serious and significant cuts in this government with some wasteful programs without going out at the heart of education funding, without cutting border security. We can do that.”

The House of Representatives and Senate are in recess this week, giving lawmakers a narrow window to reach a compromise and making it increasingly likely that Congress will have to adopt a short-term spending bill.

Speaker of the House John Boehner has warned, however, that he will not accept any short-term measure that does not markedly reduce spending.

Senate Democrats could approve short-term funding to keep the government running and essentially dare Boehner to reject it.

Obama this week threatened to veto the bill if it undermines national security or economic recovery.

But efforts to fashion a compromise have also been under way. The two chairmen of the powerful House and Senate appropriations committees, Republican Harold Rogers and Democrat Daniel Inouye, have been in conversations as the process has evolved, media reports said.