House GOP's budget 'poison pills' could force spending cuts, rattle economy

• House Republican hardliners are trying to block a permanent budget deal to trigger automatic spending cuts through the recently enacted Fiscal Responsibility Act.
• Congress faces two expiration dates for government funding, the first of which is on Friday and could result in a partial government shutdown.
• Analysts note that fiscal stimulus has been key to averting recession, and sudden spending cuts could rattle the economy's teetering recovery.

House Republican hardliners' efforts to stonewall a budget deal ahead of a looming government shutdown could risk triggering automatic spending cuts later this spring that may put pressure on the U.S. economy's already fraught recovery.

The first funding deadline is Friday at midnight when several government agencies including agriculture, veterans affairs and transportation, are due to run out of money. The second is next Friday, March 8, after which a full government shutdown would take effect if there is no funding resolution.

President Joe Biden had a meeting Tuesday about the budget impasse and Ukraine aid with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Schumer called it "one of the most intense" meetings he has ever had in the Oval Office.

The leaders all left the meeting sounding optimistic that a government shutdown could be temporarily avoided. But Schumer also made it clear that Congress is far from reaching a long-term budget plan: "We're not there yet."

The Fiscal Responsibility Act, enacted in June of last year, mandated that if a permanent government budget was not in place by Jan. 1 of this year, then spending would automatically be cut by