Budget Battle On Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON (AP) — There hasn't been a government shutdown in nearly two decades, but top lawmakers on Capitol Hill are finding trickier-than-usual obstacles in their path to avoiding one this fall.

Conservatives making a last stand against President Barack Obama's new health care law and Senate Democrats' resistance to $20 billion more in spending cuts wanted by many, if not most, Republicans are two of the major problems confronting House Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders.

The combustible mix raises the possibility of the first government shutdown since the 1995-96 battle between President Bill Clinton and GOP insurgents led by Speaker Newt Gingrich. Republicans got the worst of that battle and have avoided shutdowns ever since.