White House, Democrats vow to reject GOP's latest conditions to fund government
(CBS News) WASHINGTON - The two sides are not getting any closer in the budget battle on Capitol Hill with the possibility of a government shutdown midnight Monday.
Republicans in the House were working on a series of amendments Saturday night that the White House and Senate Democrats have already vowed to reject.
On Saturday, House Republicans introduced another emergency funding bill - again with conditions attached. This one funds the government through mid-December but also seeks to delay the implementation of the president's health-care act. That's something that Democrats say is a non-starter.
With a possible government shutdown looming, there were signs of strain on Capitol Hill.
"How dare you, how dare you, how dare you presume a failure," House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa of California told a reporter.
In a rare weekend session, House Republicans rejected the funding bill passed by the Senate on Friday because it didn't make any cuts to the Affordable Care Act.
(Watch CBS News political director John Dickerson break down what can be done to avert a shutdown)
House Speaker John Boehner led a one-hour strategy session to come up with a new way forward.
The House version would fund the government until Dec. 15 if the start of the Affordable Care Act is delayed by one year and the government repeals a tax on medical devices, cutting $29 billion over the next 10 years.
They also created a separate measure to ensure U.S. troops get paid, even if the government shuts down.
"This, I think, moves the ball forward," said West Virginia Republican Shelley Moore Capito. "It simplifies a lot of where we've been, and I think it says to the American people what's important to us."
But in a statement Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the Senate would reject both proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act.
"After weeks of futile political games from Republicans, we are still at square one," Reid said.
Late Saturday, the White House released a statement saying that in its current form if this bill reaches the president's desk, he will veto it.