New Spending Bill Deadline Looms

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The White House and Democratic lawmakers, with less than two weeks left to avoid a government shutdown, are assembling a proposal for roughly $20 billion in additional spending cuts that could soon be offered to Republicans, according to people close to the budget talks.

That would come on top of $10 billion in cuts that Congress has already enacted and would represent a deeper reduction than the Obama administration and Senate Democrats had offered previously in negotiations. But it isn't clear that would be enough to satisfy Republicans, who initially sought $61 billion in spending cuts and face pressure from tea-party activists not to compromise.

GOP Congressional aides said they had not received a new proposal from the White House over the weekend.

With the federal deficit projected to rise to a record $1.65 trillion this year, how Washington is going to control government spending has become the central point of dispute between the parties.

Congress returns from a weeklong recess Monday facing an array of budget issues, including a deadline of April 8 to reach agreement on a spending plan for the current fiscal year.

With negotiations on the current-year budget proving difficult, leaders of both parties are trying to broaden the discussion.

House Republicans are preparing a budget resolution for 2012 that would make major spending reductions in entitlement programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, and give states more flexibility in how they spend federal Medicaid money.

Separately, Senate GOP leaders are urging all 47 Republicans in the chamber to sign on to a proposed constitutional amendment to balance the budget and demand a vote on it.