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White House Budget Director Jack Lew on Friday warned that the negotiations on the 2012 omnibus spending bill are going poorly and could soon lead to a “crisis” that shuts down the government. Appropriators are negotiating a nine-bill, $900 billion omnibus package, but the White House and Republicans are at odds over rider provisions attached to the spending bills, including ones related to abortion and the environment. Funding for the government runs out Dec. 16, leaving little time to resolve the disputes.  Lew said President Obama is prepared to veto an omnibus with ideological riders in it.  “I don’t think it is in...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - President Barack Obama suggested Friday that Congress may not enjoy a long holiday break if the House and Senate have not passed an extension of the payroll-tax cut. "We need to get this done. And I expect that it's going to get done before Congress leaves. Otherwise, Congress may not be leaving and we can all spend Christmas here together," Obama said. White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama's remarks were "a measure of the seriousness of the issue at hand." Rival bills to extend a payroll tax cut have failed to collect the 60 votes needed...