White House preparing for government shutdown

Washington, Sept 24: The White House late on Wednesday said the federal government has already begun planning for a possible shutdown.

"It is only prudent for the federal government to begin planning for the possibility that the government could shut down," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

The federal government will shut down on October 1 if the Congress fails to pass a spending bill for the fiscal year 2016 before then, reports Xinhua news agency.

While Republican lawmakers have pledged to oppose any spending bill that doesn't defund Planned Parenthood, an organization which provides reproductive health and maternal and child health services, their Democratic counterparts would block any bill that targets the organization.

The federal government was shut down for 16 days in 2013 after the Congress failed to pass a spending bill over Republicans' attack on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

IANS