To Stave Off Shutdown, GOP Wants $12B in Cuts

New cuts would offer one-week delay
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 5, 2011 7:52 AM CDT
To Stave Off Shutdown, GOP Wants $12B in Cuts
In this April 1, 2011, file photo House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

Once again, a government shutdown looms Friday—and another delay will cost $12 billion in budget cuts if the GOP has its way. The House Appropriations Committee is drafting a bill that will, for another $12 billion in new cuts, keep domestic agencies and the State Department running for one more week. The Defense Department would be secured through the end of the fiscal year. Also included in the proposal: a provision that would prevent federal and local funds from being used for abortions in the District of Columbia.

Ahead of today's showdown at the White House, John Boehner laid out the GOP's options—including a shutdown—at a party caucus last night, Politico reports. The $12 billion is seen as a "down payment" toward a final deal, as were $10 billion in prior cuts that allowed two previous extensions of the deadline. Click for more on the stalled budget talks. (More Obama budget stories.)

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