Government shutdown likely as midnight deadline looms

(CNN) It's been 17 years since the last government shutdown. The next one is probably just minutes away.

A shutdown appeared certain Monday night as House Republicans acknowledged they can't overcome Senate objections to a proposal that includes provisions aimed at derailing Obamacare.

The plan now is to have another vote that would request a conference with the Senate to work out their differences. The move, which would not avert a shutdown, was slammed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

He rejected the House's proposal to meet, saying "we will not go to conference with a gun to our head."

For the second time Monday, the Senate rejected a House Republican effort to derail Obamacare tied to a proposal that would avert the shutdown.

The Senate voted to table amendments that would have delayed the individual mandate in the health care law and eliminated health insurance premium subsidies for members of Congress, their staffs and the president.

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