Government shutdown hours away -- deal reached?

Updated 10:51 p.m. Eastern Time

Lawmakers continued last-ditched discussions over an agreement to fund the government ahead of a midnight deadline that would bring a shutdown of the federal government.

Amid reports that a deal had been reached, an aide to House Speaker John Boehner told CBS News, "there is no deal yet."

Yet it appeared a deal had been reached, if not approved. Boehner met with the House Republican conference late this evening, and a lawmaker present told CBS News that he told them had negotiated the best deal that he could.

Earlier, Sen. Mike Johanns, a Nebraska Republican, released a statement saying House and Senate negotiators had reached a short-term agreement. The statement was apparently released prematurely, however, and was pulled from his website. (You can see a screengrab here.)

Boehner has faced pressure from the Tea Party not to compromise with Democrats on spending cuts. Amid reports a deal had been reached, Tea Party Nation's Judson Phillips Tweeted, "Boehner is selling us out tonight. We will primary Boehner next year."

Sarah Palin also pressured the GOP not to compromise, Tweeting, "GOP: don't retreat! The country is going broke. We can't AFFORD cowboy poetry & subsidizing abortion...If we can't fight to defund this nonsense now when we have the chance, do you think we'll win the big fight on entitlement reform later on?"

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has repeatedly been scheduled to speak on the Senate floor, but his remarks have continued to be delayed. He is now tentatively scheduled to speak at 11:15 p.m. Eastern Time.

Democrat Richard Durbin, a member of the Senate leadership, said Friday that the parties had worked out a deal over federal funding for Planned Parenthood and similar women's health providers, which Democrats said had been a major issue in negotiations. Reid had insisted that issue was the last sticking point between the parties, though Boehner said the major issue was the size of cuts to the budget.

CBS News sources suggest the deal would be for approximately $39 billion in cuts to the $3.83 trillion budget, and that the rider to defund Planned Parenthood would not be included in the final agreement. Republicans want to scrap about $300 million in federal grants that go to 4,500 different clinics around the country, about a quarter of them run by Planned Parenthood. 

Budget showdown: Deal or no deal?

At issue in the overall discussions is funding for the federal budget for the rest of Fiscal Year 2011, which lasts another six months. House Republicans passed a bill including $61 billion in cuts earlier this year, but the Democrat-led Senate rejected the bill, saying the cuts went too far.

Negotiators have been working feverishly to avert a shutdown, which would mean the furlough of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the closure of national parks and federal agencies and the suspension of pay for members of the military. President Obama has said it would be inexcusable not to reach a deal.

(At left, CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports on the budget fight.)

Bob Schieffer: Congress' behavior "shameful"Government shutdown: What it means for you

Even if they reach agreement on a long-term deal for the rest of the fiscal year, lawmakers would likely have to pass a short-term budget deal while the details are worked out.

This fight, dramatic as it is, may just be a warm up. The parties are expected to but heads in coming months over raising the debt ceiling as well as a budget for the next fiscal year, which is expected to include some degree of reform to entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Government shutdown: National park closures would cost $32M a day
Military won't pay death benefits during government shutdown