Reid not sure Congress can avert shutdown

Budget

Reid not sure Congress can avert shutdown

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said it\'s possible there will be a government shutdown at the end of this month.

Federal News Network Staff

September 20, 2011 5:43 pm

1 min read

By Jolie Lee
Federal News Radio

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said it’s possible there will be a government shutdown at the end of this month.

Reid’s uncertainty that Congress can avoid a shutdown on Sept. 30 comes after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said the two sides could reach a compromise, The Hill reports.

Reid said, “I’m not that sure” there won’t be a shutdown, according to The Hill.

Other Democratic lawmakers have told Federal News Radio they are also unsure a shutdown will be avoided.

The political fighting surrounding the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year does not bode well for budget talks, said Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.)

“It’s conceivable we could have another threat of a government shutdown,” Moran said in an interview with Federal News Radio.

Moran’s colleague Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) also echoed a similar sentiment.

“I think that you’ve got a profound clash in philosophies going on in the Congress,” Connollly said in an interview with Federal News Radio.

He added it was “good news” the House had passed a continuing resolution that would keep government funded for an additional six weeks to avoid a shutdown on Sept. 30.