Countdown to possible federal shutdown stokes anxiety

By Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images

Debate flares among lawmakers and negotiators inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, while protesters outside urge deep cuts in spending.

EnlargeCloseBy Jewel Samad, AFP/Getty Images

Debate flares among lawmakers and negotiators inside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, while protesters outside urge deep cuts in spending.

Republicans and Democrats, deeply divided over how much to cut spending to help bring the down the deficit, must reach a deal on funding the government through the end of this budget year in September to avert a shutdown when a temporary bill expires Friday at midnight.

At an afternoon town hall meeting in Fairless Hills, Pa., Obama warned that a shutdown could threaten the nation's economic recovery. He chastised Republican lawmakers for "playing games" with the budget.

CLOSINGS: Agencies are releasing details about their shutdown plansLOBBYING: Americans press Congress for their piece of the pieMONEY: Congress, Obama get paid in a government shutdownTRAVEL: Looming shutdown would close national parks, museumsA shutdown would "affect ordinary families day in, day out, and it affects our economy right at the time when our economy is getting momentum," Obama said. "We had the best jobs report we had had in a very long time this past Friday. But you know what? Companies don't like uncertainty, and if they start seeing that suddenly we may have a shutdown of our government, that could halt momentum right when we need to build it up — all because of politics."

To bide time, Republican House Speaker John Boehner said that the House today plans to vote on a week-long funding bill that would cut $12 billion more from this year's budget but also would fully fund the Pentagon for the next six months.

Boehner said Republicans will "fight for the largest spending cuts we can get" and accused Obama of failing to show leadership on the budget. "This is the responsible thing to do," he said of his plan for the one-week extension.

The White House and the Democratic-controlled Senate, however, have called that idea a non-starter.

"At a time when you're struggling to pay your bills and meet your responsibilities, the least we can do is meet our responsibilities to produce a budget," Obama told the crowd in Pennsylvania. "That's not too much to ask for. That's what the American people expect of us. That's what they deserve. You want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize that it's not just 'my way or the highway.' "

While Obama and congressional leaders prepared for an 8:45 p.m. ET negotiating session in the Oval Office following Obama's day trip to Pennsylvania and New York, government agencies made plans for what to do if the government runs out of money at week's end.

Many essential services would continue. Social Security checks would still be cut and Medicare payments made to doctors and hospitals. Air-traffic controllers would stay on the job, as would postal employees.

Among a host of services and programs that would be scaled back or halted:

•Tax refunds for those who have filed their returns by mail would be delayed. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman said those filed electronically won't be affected because those returns are processed automatically. Last year, about 70% of taxpayers e-filed their returns. Don't get any ideas about filing late: Shulman emphasized that April 18 remains the deadline, shutdown or not.

•In Charleston, S.C., events next week to mark the 150th anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter, which marked the first battle of the Civil War, could be called off. The fort in Charleston Harbor, along with the National Park Service's visitors center, would be shuttered.

•In the nation's capital, which gets much of its funding from the federal government, garbage pickup will be put off for a week, street sweeping will cease, and public libraries will close.

Who'll get the blame for such inconveniences remains to be seen.

Asked Tuesday who's doing a better job in efforts to agree on a new budget, 41% said Democrats and 34% said Republicans in a new Gallup Poll. Asked the same question six weeks ago, 39% said Democrats and 42% said Republicans.

Respondents were more likely to agree with Republicans about the depth of cuts necessary, however: 45% say Obama and Democrats aren't cutting enough, while only 32% say Republican cuts go too far. Still, few want a shutdown: 58% of respondents say they want a compromise, even if it results in a budget they disagree with, compared with 33% who said their side should hold out for what they want. The poll of 1,014 adults has a margin of error of

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