Republican leaders moved Thursday to pass legislation guaranteeing there will be no government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year, regardless of the state of budget negotiations with the White House.
A no-shutdown bill was introduced in the Senate with the backing of Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., and other key GOP legislators, and Republican sources told the Associated Press that House Speaker Newt Gingrich was supportive as well.
A Lott spokeswoman said Republicans wanted to make it "crystal clear" there would be no shutdown, regardless of any vetoes by President Clinton or failure of Congress to approve regular spending bills on time.
Republicans will attempt to attach the measure to a supplemental spending bill that calls for $4 billion for operations in Bosnia and disaster relief for several states.
The measure introduced in the Senate assures regular funding for an entire fiscal year, through Sept. 30 1998. It also calls for spending to be set at 98 percent of current year levels.
The AP also reported President Clinton's budget strategy was criticized Thursday night by congressional Democrats who want the White House to stop making concessions to Republicans.
House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., relayed these concerns to Clinton at a brief White House meeting, also attended by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
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