To Stave Off Shutdown, GOP Wants $12B in Cuts

Once again, a government shutdown looms Friday—and another delay will cost $12 billion in budget cuts if the GOP has its way. The House Appropriations Committee is drafting a bill that will, for another $12 billion in new cuts, keep domestic agencies and the State Department running for one more week. The Defense Department would be secured through the end of the fiscal year. Also included in the proposal: a provision that would prevent federal and local funds from being used for abortions in the District of Columbia.

Ahead of today's showdown at the White House, John Boehner laid out the GOP's options—including a shutdown—at a party caucus last night, Politico reports. The $12 billion is seen as a "down payment" toward a final deal, as were $10 billion in prior cuts that allowed two previous extensions of the deadline. Click for more on the stalled budget talks. (More Obama budget stories.)