Shutdown clock ticking, GOP struggling for spending deal
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republicans who control Congress are struggling to come up with a must-pass measure to avoid a government shutdown this weekend.
House GOP leaders are short of votes, and have scrapped plans to combine a short-term spending bill with $81 billion worth of disaster aid and a $658 billion Pentagon funding measure.
Conservatives are upset with the price tag for hurricane aid, and their pressure has sent GOP leaders back to the drawing board.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democrats are pressing for a two- or three-week temporary spending bill that pushes a number of unresolved issues — including disaster aid — into the new year.
House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders haven't announced a course of action.