Obama, GOP fail to reach deal in budget talks
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U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday night said talks with Republican leadership in White House on budget row didn't reach a deal, and they are still working to reach an agreement.
He made the statement after a meeting with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, saying they made "additional progress" in the talks.
He said he expects the two sides to resolve the differences in late night talks to be conducted by staff members, and expects an agreement Friday morning, but "there's no certainty yet." The current stopgap budget is set to expire Friday.
Boehner and Reid said in a statement they have "narrowed their differences" and "will continue to work through the night" to resolve differences and avert an imminent shutdown of the federal government Friday.
The talks came after a whole day of drama around the budget issue, which saw Republicans push through a one-week stopgap bill in the House that the Democratic controlled Senate said it won't pick up, and Obama said he would veto, while the two sides failed to meet each other half way earlier in the day in an Oval Office meeting.
Meanwhile, the White House Office of Management and Budget began Thursday to let federal employees know if they will be furloughed in case of a shutdown. The office's director Jack Lew officially informed federal agencies of what they can and cannot do if the government shuts down, and employees began receiving notice of furloughs.
