Senators play down talk of government shutdown

Senior members of the U.S. Senate played down talk of a government shutdown, saying on Sunday morning talk shows that a final agreement could be worked out to avert such a drastic step.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggested that the key will come down to fiscally conservative Democrats who agree with Republicans on how much to cut in federal spending for the remaining six months of fiscal year 2011.

"There are enough red-state Democrats" to get a deal worked out, Graham said on CBS' Face the Nation.

The current stopgap bill funding the government expires on Friday, April 8.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he also believes congressional negotiators and the White House can come to a final agreement. "In Washington terms, we're just a few dollars short," Reid said, also appearing on CBS.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said on ABC's This Week: "I doubt there will be a shutdown." Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, also speaking on ABC, said he was "optimistic" that a shutdown will be avoided and added that "progress is being made."

On Graham's point, 85 Democrats joined 186 Republicans last month to pass the sixth in a series of short-term budget bills to keep the government running. Democrats in the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, such as Reps. Heath Shuler of North Carolina and Mike Ross of Arkansas, were among those "yes" votes.

President Obama and congressional Democrats say there is agreement to cut $33 billion for the rest of the year, which translates to $73 billion less than what the president proposed for fiscal year 2011. USA TODAY's On Politics has a primer on understanding the budget numbers here.

Still at issue, however, are policy proposals that Reid said have nothing to do with reducing the deficit. He cited Republican plans to cut funding for Head Start and homneless veterans, as just two examples. House Republicans included such proposals in the bill they passed in February that cut $61 billion from federal spending.

Reid also continued a theme he has sounded for weeks, arguing that Boehner and the House GOP leadership are giving too much weight to the concerns of the Tea Party movement, whose supporters are calling for deeper spending cuts. "Cut it or shut it," was a rallying cry at a gathering of the Tea Party Patriots at the U.S. Capitol last week.

"The Republican leadership in the House has to make a decision whether to do the right thing for the country or the right thing for the Tea Party," Reid said.

Boehner has said there is no agreement with congressional Democrats and the Obama administration on how much to cut. The House GOP leader insists Republicans "are going to fight for the largest spending cuts that we can get."

See photos of: Harry Reid, Jeff SessionsTags:Harry ReidLindsey GrahamJeff Sessions .div-wrapper

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