Shutdown Watch: Four Days Out

With four days left until the federal government’s spending authority runs out, the talk grew somewhat more pessimistic on Monday as Republicans declared themselves not satisfied with what Democrats in the Senate were offering. At the same time, President Obama invited lawmakers from both parties to the White House on Tuesday for a last-ditch effort to reach an agreement.

Each day, The Caucus will offer a daily roundup of the public relations effort by both sides as the April 8 deadline approaches. Check back here to get caught up on the back-and-forth.

* Republican House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement that the $33 billion in cuts being offered by Democratic senators was “smoke and mirrors” and he called them unacceptable. “As I’ve said for a week, there is no agreement, and will be no agreement on a number until everything — including the important policy provisions from H.R. 1 — is resolved,” Mr. Boehner said, referring to the House budget bill. “Despite attempts by Democrats to lock in a number among themselves, I’ve made clear that their $33 billion is not enough and many of the cuts that the White House and Senate Democrats are talking about are full of smoke and mirrors. That’s unacceptable.”

He added, “If the government shuts down, it will be because Senate Democrats failed to do their job.”

Representative Hal Rogers, Republican of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Appropriations committee, said in a statement Monday afternoon that Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, was abusing the budget process by “dictating the use of gimmicks and phony accounting to sneak more spending through the Congress and by the American people.”

* Democrats fired back. Speaking on the Senate floor, Mr. Reid called the House budget bill “a simply appalling proposal” but said that the negotiators have been making “some progress” toward an agreement. “We’re not where we should be yet,” Mr. Reid said. “Last week we agreed upon a number on which to base our budget cuts — $73 billion below the President’s proposal. But disagreements remain on where we should make those cuts. We worked through the weekend to bridge the gap.”

Jon Summers, a spokesman for Mr. Reid, issued the following statement late Monday afternoon: “While Republicans ratchet up their rhetoric and once again threaten to shut down the government, Democrats remain focused on finding common ground and working out a bipartisan compromise that cuts government spending while protecting jobs. As Sen. Reid said, we are making progress as we work to cut more than $70 billion in government spending. As we get closer to a final agreement, we are confident that in the end Republicans will reject cries from the Tea Party to shut down the government and work with us on a solution that makes smart cuts while protecting our economy’s recent gains.”

Senator Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, added in a statement: “A compromise on the budget is right there for the taking, assuming the speaker still wants one. We take it for granted that because of the intense political pressure being applied by the Tea Party, the speaker needs to play an outside game as well as an inside game. As long as he continues to negotiate, it’s O.K. by us if he needs to strike a different pose publicly.”

* President Obama, who has relied on staff and Vice President Joe Biden to help negotiate a compromise, on Monday invited the congressional leadership to a White House meeting on Tuesday in the hopes of reaching a deal before Friday’s deadline. Mr. Obama also made calls to lawmakers over the weekend.

“The President has made clear that we all understand the need to cut spending, and significant progress has been made in agreeing that we can all work off the same number — $73 billion in spending cuts in this year alone,” Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said. “With the process running short on time, the president will urge leaders to reach final agreement and avoid a government shutdown that would be harmful to our economic recovery.”

Mr. Carney added that Mr. Obama “remains confident that if we, together, roll up our sleeves and get to work very quickly, that we can find a compromise that reduces spending by $73 billion; protects the investments that are so key to our future economic growth, allowing us to innovate — out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world — yes, he believes that can get done. But time is of the essence, and that is why he is calling this meeting for tomorrow.”