Cantor: Dems Will Get Blame for Govt Shutdown

The Hill reports:

The public will blame Democrats if lawmakers are unable to reach an agreement to avoid a government shutdown, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Monday.

Cantor charged that Senate Democrats' inability to draft a serious spending plan, rather than divisions within his own party, is perpetuating the gridlock on Capitol Hill.

"In the scope of our debt crisis, if Senator [Harry] Reid and Senator [Charles] Schumer force the government to partially shut down over [the GOP's] sensible spending cuts, Americans will hold them accountable," Cantor said in a statement.

Cantor's comments are the latest salvo in the contentious negotiations over a spending bill to fund the government through the rest of the fiscal year. Lawmakers have until April 8 to hammer out a deal to fund the government, or face a shutdown.