WASHINGTON — The federal disaster fund could run dry
as early as Tuesday, but lawmakers showed no sign of compromise as
another partisan showdown on the budget set the stage for a possible
government shutdown later this week.
Democratic
and Republican leaders were not scheduled to talk Sunday about a measure
to replenish the fund, which is used to aid victims and reimburse
states hit by floods and other natural disasters, and to keep the
government running past Friday, the end of the fiscal year.
The disaster aid is part of a broader bill to temporarily fund the government once the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
The
Senate is scheduled to vote Monday on a Democratic-sponsored measure to
provide $3.65 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which
administers the disaster fund. But the bill is expected to fail because
it does not include spending cuts demanded by Republicans.
Lawmakers
expressed hope Sunday that they could reach a bipartisan agreement
rather than face a repeat of the rancorous summer battle over raising
the nation’s debt ceiling. But negotiations are likely to continue until
the 11th hour.
Ratcheting up pressure for a deal,
governors from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and North Carolina,
states hard hit by Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, called on
Congress to move swiftly to provide disaster aid they say is critical to
rebuilding damaged infrastructure and communities.
The
fight over what traditionally has been a routine matter — keeping the
government running and aiding disaster victims — is raising doubts about
the ability of a divided Congress to resolve far thornier issues,
including reducing the national debt and strengthening the economy.
“This
latest crisis makes it painfully obvious that the next battles — a jobs
bill and further deficit reduction — will be even more challenging,”
said Greg Valliere, a political analyst with the Potomac Research Group,
an independent firm that provides policy analysis to institutional
investors.
The fight, he added, is further eroding “what little confidence the public — and the (stock) markets — have in Washington.”
At least in public, neither side showed signs of budging.
White
House senior adviser David Plouffe assailed Republicans for demanding a
$1.5 billion cut in spending on green-vehicle technology as a price for
continuing to fund the government and replenishing disaster-relief
coffers.
“What we ought not to do is play politics
with those who have been affected by disasters,” Plouffe said on “Fox
News Sunday.” He noted that the green-car program is a job creator
backed by the pro-business Chamber of Commerce.
Sen.
Mark R. Warner, D-Va., called the latest standoff “embarrassing,” and
tangled with Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., on CNN’s “State of the
Union” over who was responsible.
Warner blamed
“the ‘tea party’ crowd” in the Republican-controlled House while
Alexander accused Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.. of
manufacturing a crisis.
“We’re going to help
people who have been affected by disasters,” Sen. Lindsey Graham,
R-S.C., said on “Fox News Sunday.” “But we’re going to start cutting the
government in other places where the money is not so important.”
Other lawmakers pressed their case directly with their constituents.
“I
understand that Congress must fund the federal government and I do not
support shutting it down,” Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga., wrote in an
email to his district. But he promised to “stand strong in my pledge to
fight wasteful spending and to get our fiscal house back in order.”
Brian
Darling, a senior fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation,
expects a last-minute deal to avert a government shutdown. But he said
the fight shows there is “no common ground between warring parties in
Congress.”
Republicans are trying to cut spending
to keep the promises that helped them gain seats in the 2010 election,
he said, while Democrats are trying to blame Republicans for a “do
nothing” Congress and a dismal economy before the 2012 election.
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©2011 the Los Angeles Times
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