Friday, April 8, 2011

Cong. Murphy "Not Necessarily Confident" About Budget Deal

There's still no deal to keep the government running with just hours remaining on the current funding extension. That expires at midnight and unless there's an overall budget deal or an agreement for another one week extension, there will be a partial government shutdown starting Saturday. The greater impact would be felt Monday since most government offices are closed over the weekend.
Republican Congressman Tim Murphy of Pittsburgh's South Hills called on the Senate and the White House to approve the one week extension that the GOP-controlled House passed Thursday afternoon....
"If the Senate is saying they will not take up the bill, they will not even debate it, and if the White House says they will veto it, that is a line in the sand we cannot have. We've got to keep working together here...both sides...with our eyes on cutting some spending and reducing the debt."

The 2 sides are reportedly about 6 billion dollars apart. Murphy says that is important but so too are some policy issues dividing Democrats and Republicans. The GOP passed extension includes a cut in government funding for abortions in Washington, D.C. The president said he would veto that cut.

Murphy says he's still hoping this gets resolved without a government shutdown..."because I don't want anybody who works for the government to be cut or anyone who depends on government supports or services to not have those fulfilled. I'm not necessarily confident, we'll see, who knows."

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