House of Representatives approval along party lines in a before-dawn Feb. 19 vote on a spending bill to fund the remainder of the fiscal year that would cut $61 billion from federal agencies, has officials girding for the possibility of a government shutdown.

Congress approved shortly before Christmas a continuing resolution to keep the federal government in funds through March 4 at a level just slightly above last year's. Failure last year to approve traditional spending bills for the current fiscal year paved the way for the more conservative House sworn in Jan. 5 to insist on cuts for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

The Democratic-majority Senate and President Obama have voiced opposition to House plans, with Obama issuing a Feb. 15 statement of administration policy (.pdf) saying that he will veto a spending bill containing deep cuts.

But Republican leaders downplayed the possibility on Sunday morning talk shows of a government shutdown triggered by lack of funds.

"We're not looking for a government shutdown," said Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) while on CBS's "Face The Nation." "My guess is we will probably have a short-term extension while we negotiate these things with spending cuts," added Ryan, who is chairman of the House Budget Committee.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) told Fox's "News Sunday" that the proposed cuts will likely "get waited out and you'll still spend the $61 billion this year that we don't need to spend."

On Feb. 21, three Democratic senators, Charles Schumer (N.Y.), Jeff Bingaman (N.M.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) reportedly sent a letter to House appropriations leaders voicing opposition to the cuts in part on the grounds that the House bill would cut $272 million for surveillance systems along the southwestern border. That cut would wipe out gains made from a $600 million supplemental spending bill for border security signed into law in August, the senators said.

Also slated for cuts, according to a Democratic-led Senate Appropriations Committee analysis, would be the Federal Aviation Administration's NextGen air traffic control modernization effort, which would get $234 million less than the FAA had wanted to spend in the current fiscal year.

The Senate committee analysis also finds that the National Science Foundation would receive $778 million less than requested for the current fiscal year. The Energy Department's Office of Science and Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy would also get $1.04 billion less than requested, according to the Senate committee.

For more:
- go to the THOMAS page for the spending bill, H.R. 1
- go to a House Appropriations Committee statement on the bill's passage in the House
- go to a Senate Appropriations Committee analysis of the House bill
- download President Obama's Feb. 15 statement of administration policy (.pdf)

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