US House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, Republican Representative fom Wisconsin, speaks to the press on Capitol Hill in Washington,DC on April 5, 2011. US President Barack Obama and his Republican rivals failed to reach a deal on spending cuts to avert a government shutdown, but both sides held out hope for an agreement ahead of a deadline this week. House Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders met Obama for talks as the clock ticked to midnight on Friday, when the government of the world’s largest economy will shut down without an agreement on spending for the current year. AFP PHOTO/Nicholas KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)