Agreement on overall funding levels may be within reach
Politico's David Rogers reports that House Republicans and the Obama administration may be within $6 billion of an agreement on funding levels for the balance of FY2011:
Republicans have suggested a possible top line of $1.052 trillion and the administration has said it is prepared to move toward $1.058 trillion — leaving a difference of $6 billion. The latest White House offer follows a discussion between Obama’s chief of staff, Bill Daley, and Boehner’s staff and represents a significant effort to move toward the numbers discussed by the GOP.
The funding bill passed last month by the House would spend $1.026 trillion, down from $1.087 trillion last year. The halfway point between those two figures is about $1.057 trillion, within the range of the numbers Rogers reported. If his sources are correct, it seems likely a final agreement should be possible on spending levels, significantly dimming the prospects for a tea party-forced federal shutdown.
An agreement on spending levels would still leave open questions about where the cuts should come from and whether there ought to be any riders in a final deal. Democrats may be open to limited riders, but have ruled out supporting any that would repeal health care reform or ban family planning funding.
Both the White House and Congressional Democrats say they are confident a government shutdown can be avoided, but Republicans continue to express pessimism. A Boehner spokesman said Democratic statements expressing confidence a deal can be worked out were "fables" and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the possibility of a bipartisan compromise was "far-fetched."
So the bottom-line is that it's unclear exactly where things stand. But if Rogers' sources prove to be accurate, the signs would seem to point towards John Boehner accepting the reality that he'll need Democratic votes to avoid a final deal done.