White House: Plans in Place for Shutdown

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters traveling with President Obama on Air Force One Tuesday that the administration continues to believe that "we will be able to work out common ground" on budget issues with congressional leaders and avert a shutdown of government when current funding for agencies expires on March 4.

In the event those efforts fail, though, Carney said the executive branch would follow long-established plans for operating during a shutdown. "I'd simply state that there have been contingency plans for government shutdowns since 1980, and those plans are obviously updated accordingly, but they've been around for a long time," Carney said.