 Because the federal budget legislation was not expected to be enacted by the September 30 , 2011 deadline , work began on a continuing resolution to fund the government temporarily through November 18 , 2011 with an across @-@ the @-@ board reduction of 1 @.@ 503 % below the 2011 budget levels . However , a dispute arose between the Republican @-@ led House and the Democrat @-@ led Senate over the amount of additional funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) for costs associated with relief from Hurricane Irene , and whether this extra funding should be partially offset with cuts elsewhere . FEMA 's disaster relief fund had $ 792 million remaining in it just prior to the hurricane 's landfall in August 2011 , which was below the $ 1 billion threshold that caused FEMA to act under " immediate @-@ needs status , " delaying long @-@ term projects in favor of urgent tasks . The proposed cuts targeted a program to fund development of fuel @-@ efficient automobiles as well as the program that had guaranteed a loan to the recently bankrupt Solyndra corporation . The Senate rejection of the House bill on September 23 , 2011 raised the possibility of a government shutdown on October 1 . 
