Battle over the U.S. budget and government shutdown

Congressional Republicans and Democrats have waged a long fight in trying to agree on a budget plan to slash federal spending and avert a government shutdown.

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April 5, 2011

President Obama speaks during an unannounced appearance in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House. Obama upped the ante in a budget battle with Republicans, warning it would be "inexcusable" not to agree to a deal and risk closing down the U.S. government this week. Obama said the slowly recovering U.S. economy did not need the severe disruption that would result from a federal shutdown.

Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images

April 5, 2011

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) rushes off to the White House for a meeting with congressonal leadership and the president as budget negotiations intensified with a federal government shutdown looming.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

April 5, 2011

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), center front, and other Republicn leaders arrive to speak to the media on Capitol Hill. The government will shut down if leaders don't agree on a spending plan by April 8.

Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images

April 5, 2011

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), left, and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) meet in the "green room" before a news conference to unveil the 2012 Republican budget proposal on Capitol Hill.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

April 5, 2011

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) addresses reporters as House Republicans hold a news conference at the Capitol to tout their budget proposal, which attempts to address immediate and long-term deficits.

Bill O'Leary / The Washington Post

April 5, 2011

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) leads a news conference to unveil the 2012 Republican budget proposal. The budget includes overhauls of tax rates, Medicaid and Medicare, among other things, in an effort to address the deficit. It also would repeal the health-care and financial-regulation laws passed last year.

Melina Mara / The Washington Post

April 5, 2011

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) listens to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) speak to the media on Capitol Hill. The Republicans' 2012 budget proposal promises another fight even if the impasse over the current year's budget is resolved without a government shutdown.

Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images

April 4, 2011

Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), right, speaks at a news conference that included other House Republicans outside U.S. Capitol. With a shutdown of the federal government just days away, House Republicans pressured the Senate to approve a funding bill.

Matt McClain / The Washington Post

April 4, 2011

From left, House Republicans Steve Womack (Ark.), Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (Ark.) and Mike Kelly (Pa.) talk before a news conference meant to pressure Senate Democrats as the shutdown deadline looms.

Matt McClain / The Washington Post

April 4, 2011

A statue of Patrick A. McCarran, a late U.S. senator from Nevada, watches over a quiet scene near the Senate chambers, which belied the heated negotiations taking place among lawmakers days before a government shutdown deadline.

Matt McClain / The Washington Post

April 4, 2011

A man descends a staircase at the Capitol. President Obama joined the budget negotiations with lawmakers as a government shutdown drew near.

Matt McClain / The Washington Post

April 3, 2011

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) talks about the possibility of a government shutdown over a budget impasse on CBS's "Face the Nation."

Chris Usher / CBS News via Getty Images

Jan. 6, 2011

Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington to discuss the budget.

Alex Brandon / AP

Jan. 6, 2011

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), right, talks to Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) on Capitol Hill before a news conference to discuss the budget.

Alex Brandon / AP

Jan. 26, 2011

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), left, talks with with the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.), on Capitol Hill. A series of stopgap budget measures has averted a shutdown so far, but there is still no agreement on a budget for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Feb. 10, 2011

Willow Wimbush, left, and Nancy Harris work on copies of the Appendix of the 2012 budget at the U.S. Government Printing Office in Washington. President Obama sent his 2012 budget proposal to Congress on Feb. 14.

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

Feb. 15, 2011

The Senate Budget Committee's top Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, waits to question Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob J. Lew, who defended President Obama's budget for fiscal 2012.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Feb. 14, 2011

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) puts up a chart while delivering the GOP response to President Obama's budget submission for fiscal 2012.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Feb. 18, 2011

In a news conference on Capitol Hill, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) talks about countering the plans of House Speaker John A. Boehner (Ohio) and other Republicans to cut the spending for the current budget year.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

March 2, 2011

President Obama signs a two-week funding bill temporarily averting a government shutdown in the Oval Office at the White House.

Charles Dharapak / AP

Feb. 28, 2011

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill as Congress resumes work on a spending plan to avoid a government shutdown.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

March 29, 2011

House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), center, and other House GOP leaders hold a media briefing in the speaker's offices at the Capitol. With the threat of an government shutdown looming if a budget deal isn't passed by April 8, Boehner and the House GOP leaders blamed Senate Democrats for the failure to pass a long-term bill to cut spending and keep the federal government running.

/ Getty Images

March 30, 2011

Vice President Biden arrives at the Capitol to meet with Senate leaders to discuss the impasse over the federal budget. He is joined at right by Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob J. Lew.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

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