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MSN.com
Homeland
Security funding drama darkens U.S. fiscal outlook
By Richard Cowan and David Lawder
Federal Protective Service vehicles, which is a branch of Homeland
Security, park outside the U.S. District Courthouse in the Brooklyn
borough of New York. © REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Federal Protective
Service vehicles, which is a branch of Homeland Security, park outside
the U.S. District Courthouse in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Congress narrowly averted a partial shutdown of the U.S. domestic
security agency late on Friday night, but the forces behind the chaotic
episode remain - fractious Republicans and House Speaker John Boehner's
lack of control over them.
That may portend more serious trouble ahead as Washington confronts
fiscal challenges on a grander scale. In five to seven months, the
federal debt ceiling will again be reached, and by October Congress
must pass spending bills to keep the government running in the new
fiscal year.
Failing to deal effectively with these issues could have much more
damaging repercussions - such as a broad government shutdown or a debt
default - than a partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS).
What happens between now and then, including the handling of a one-week
extension of Homeland Security funding, will be crucial. Some
conservatives speak of ousting Boehner, but it is unlikely they can
muster enough votes, while others made clear on Friday that they were
willing to take big risks to score ideological points...
Read the rest of the article at msn.com
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