4:00 am Thu December 15, 2011  Federal Government Faces 3rd
Shutdown Threat  Originally published on Thu December 15, 2011
6:55 am    A different sequel is playing out in Washington, D.C.
Once again, the federal government is threatened with a
shutdown. Funding to keep it going runs out tomorrow at
midnight. A trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill would keep
federal agencies open another nine months. What's holding that
up is a bitter fight between Republicans and Democrats over
extending a payroll tax break. So overnight, Republicans in the
House introduced their own trillion-dollar spending bill, aimed
at pressuring Democrats to go along with the GOP on both
measures. NPR's David Welna has more on this game of chicken.
DAVID WELNA, BYLINE: To the Democrats who run the Senate,
Republican leader Mitch McConnell could not have made himself
more clear about wanting fast action on the payroll tax-cut
extension bill that House Republicans muscled through their
chamber on Tuesday evening.   SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL: