Dems, GOP fail to reach budget deal

Obama: Budget delays 'inexcusable'STORY HIGHLIGHTSWhite House, congressional budget negotiations fail to reach an agreementWithout an agreement, the government will shut down after FridayReid and Boehner meet and agree to keep working on a solutionFederal workers paid by appropriated funds will be furloughed in a shutdown Washington (CNN) -- Top White House and congressional negotiators failed to reach agreement Tuesday on a spending plan for the rest of the current fiscal year, bringing the federal government closer to a shutdown at the end of the week.

Key Democrats rejected a Republican proposal to keep the government running for one more week at the cost of an additional $12 billion in cuts. Republicans, meanwhile, dismissed Democrats' insistence that there had been an agreement to cut $33 billion for the rest of the fiscal year.

If there is no deal by midnight Friday, when the current spending authorization measure expires, parts of the government will close down.

Time: Are we headed for a shutdown?

Late Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner met privately to discuss the matter. Statements issued by each of their offices described the talks as "productive" and said they agreed to continue working to find a solution.

The budget brinksmanship showed the political stakes of the situation, with both parties trying to depict the other as unwilling to do what's right for the country.

View the Original article