Clock ticking on government shutdown

  • 11 years ago
On the brink of a government shutdown - lawmakers in Washington fail to reach a compromise - just hours before a bill funding the U.S. government is set to expire.

Saying Americans will feel the economic impact of a shutdown right away - President Barack Obama called on Congress to reach a deal.

SOUNDBITE: President Barack Obama, saying:

"My hope and expectation is that in the eleventh hour once again that Congress will choose to do the right thing and that the House of Representatives in particular will choose the right thing."

Earlier in a day - in a vote along party lines of 54 to 46 - Senate Democrats killed a proposal by the Republican-led House of Representatives to temporarily fund the government - in exchange for a one-year delay of President Barack Obama's healthcare plan known as "Obamacare."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid rejected any change to the healthcare legislation.

SOUNDBITE: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, saying:

"To R

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