House takes first step to avoid government shutdown

Source: washington post

The House is taking its first step Wednesday to avoid a government shutdown, as Washington looks to forgo forcing a fiscal crisis this month and instead turns its attention to a more deliberate debate over long-term deficit reduction.

Accepting that the across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester are here to stay for the moment, President Obama is focusing on wooing rank-and-file Republicans in the Senate who might be interested in a deal that would pair tax reform that produces new revenues with cuts to entitlement programs.

After a series of phone calls from Obama to Republican senators who have expressed interest in that kind of “grand bargain,” he will take a group of senators to dinner Wednesday evening at the Jefferson Hotel.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-takes-first-step-to-avoid-government-shutdown/2013/03/06/f50c79da-8671-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394_story.html