No deal yet possible as US government shutdown looms

Talks were intensifying in the Congress on reaching a deal on long-overdue legislation to finance the US government through the end of September and avoid a partial government shutdown.Lawmakers need to reach a deal before a temporary government funding bill is set to expire on Friday midnight. At issue is legislation needed to keep the day-to-day operations of federal agencies going through the end of the budget year.The budget measure has become the biggest clash yet between President Barack Obamas Democratic Party and Republicans who won control of the House of Representatives last year by promising to slash spending and bring the US deficit under control.A partial shutdown would affect US agencies deemed non-essential, including national parks, passport offices and tourist sites in Washington. The political economic implications could be huge. Some economists fear it would put the brakes on the fragile US recovery. A shutdown could shape next years presidential and congressional elections though it is not clear which party would most feel voters wrath.Democrats say Republican House leaders eventually have to part company with conservative tea party-backed lawmakers who propelled Republicans to power, and they accused them of reneging on an agreement to cut $33 billion, increasing the chances of a shutdown.In return, Republicans accused Democrats of resorting to budget gimmicks to make it look like they favored deep cuts, when in fact they were finding ways to ease the potential pain.A Democratic-led Congress failed to complete the must-pass spending bills last year. Republicans stormed into power in the House in January and passed a measure with $61 billion in cuts that even some Republican appropriators saw as unworkable. It was rejected in the Democratic-controlled Senate.