US government on brink of first shutdown in almost 7 years during partisan standoff

By MARY CLARE JALONICK, LISA MASCARO and STEPHEN GROVES

Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a government shutdown just hours away, Democrats and Republicans angrily blamed each other and refused to budge from their positions Tuesday, unable to find agreement or even negotiate as hundreds of thousands of federal workers stood to be furloughed or laid off .

The partisan standoff over health care and spending is threatening to trigger the first U.S. government shutdown in almost seven years at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. To avoid it, the Senate would have to pass a House measure that would extend federal funding for seven weeks while lawmakers finish their work on annual spending bills . But a resolution appeared far off as tempers flared, increasing the odds of a shutdown by the hour.