After weeks of negotiation, it looks like the Federal Government will shut down this weekend. There will be a lot of noise regarding who is to blame for this but the following op-ed from the NY Times (amongst several sources on this), points out the major points of contention holding up negotiations. Rather than pure dollar figures, the main conflict currently focuses on social issues. From the article:
Republicans are refusing to budge on these ideological demands:
• No federal financing for Planned Parenthood because it performs abortions. Instead, state administration of federal family planning funds, which means that Republican governors and legislatures will not spend them.
• No local financing for abortion services in the District of Columbia.
• No foreign aid to countries that might use the money for abortion or family planning. And no aid to the United Nations Population Fund, which supports family-planning services.
• No regulation of greenhouse gases by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• No funds for health care reform or the new consumer protection bureau established in the wake of the financial collapse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/08/opinion/08fri1.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
http://blogs.abcnews.com/nightlinedailyline/2011/04/should-abortion-be-part-of-the-budget-discussion.html
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