Partisan divisions emerge again as negotiators work on budget compromise

WASHINGTON - With another government shutdown looming as early as January, congressional negotiators convened Wednesday to attempt to reach a budget compromise and end the brinkmanship that has left the capital lurching from one fiscal crisis to another.

But just two weeks after a short-term deal ended the 16-day government shutdown, familiar partisan divisions over tax hikes and spending cuts reemerged and expectations remained low that members of the House and Senate panel would achieve the kind of far-reaching deficit-reduction deal once pursued by President Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner (R., Ohio). Most said they would be lucky to simply prevent another shutdown in the new year.

"I don't think we're going to do a 'grand bargain' here," said Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio), who was director of the Office of Management and Budget under former President George W. Bush. "I think we can do something that moves us in the right direction, and I think we can call it a 'good bargain.' "

The panel, created from this month's budget agreement, has until Dec. 13 to negotiate a budget framework. Funding to keep the federal government open runs out by Jan. 15.

Republicans resisted new taxes, saying they would rather reduce spending on Medicare and other safety-net programs. Democrats want wealthy individuals and corporations to contribute more tax revenue to the nation's fiscal problems.

"I want to say this from the get-go: If this conference becomes an argument about taxes, we're not going to get anywhere," said Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), the House Budget Committee chairman and his party's former vice presidential nominee. "Taking more from hardworking families just isn't the answer. I know my Republican colleagues feel the same way."

Democrats, though, said the House GOP's budget blueprint was unacceptable because it shifts the burden of spending cuts away from the Pentagon and onto domestic programs for children, seniors, and the poor.

"I'm ready to make some tough concessions to get a deal," said Sen. Patty Murray (D., Wash.), the Senate Budget Committee chairwoman. "But compromise runs both ways. . . . Republicans are also going to have to work with us to scour the bloated tax code - and close some wasteful tax loopholes and special-interest subsidies."

Many Republicans have grown weary of the hardball tactics their far-right allies have taken in pursuit of budget cuts, as polls showed the public largely blamed the GOP for the government shutdown. Experts estimated that the shutdown cost the economy $24 billion.

"This kind of government by manufactured crisis is a disaster for the American people and the American economy," said Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.). "Let's take the government shutdown off the table."