Reid: Expect a Shutdown

The Hill reports:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday he is "less optimistic" about averting a government shutdown one day after a White House meeting failed to lead to a breakthrough in talks.

Reid (D-Nev.) said he is significantly more worried about the prospect of a shutdown than he was Wednesday evening when he and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) updated reporters on the talks.

Reid blamed a partisan dispute over Planned Parenthood and other hot-button ideological issues.

The White House announced that Reid and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) will meet again with President Obama and Vice President Biden at 1 p.m. in the Oval Office.

The Senate Democratic leader said negotiators have basically agreed to the total level of cuts for the rest of fiscal 2011 but strong disagreement remains over controversial policy riders. These include proposals to defund Planned Parenthood and various Environmental Protection Agency initiatives.

“The numbers are basically there, ” Reid said. “But I’m not nearly as optimistic — and that’s an understatement — as I was 11 hours ago. The numbers are extremely close. Our differences are no longer over how much savings we get on government spending.

“The only thing holding up an agreement is an ideology, ” Reid told the Senate’s presiding chair. “I’m sorry to say, Mr. President, my friend the Speaker and the Republican leadership have drawn a line in the sand, not dealing with a deficit we know we have to deal with.