THE NEED FOR AN AGREEMENT

Under what will be enormous public pressure to reach a compromise, Carney notes, the two sides may simply agree to a stopgap resolution without agreeing on a budget, in effect punting the issue until the 1996 elections: "A 'no-deal' is still a possibility. But first they have to come up with some sort of continuing resolution just to keep the government running, even if it's a continuing resolution for the whole year. At some point, there will be a very serious impact as new applicants for welfare and veterans benefits aren't able to get anything and services are reduced."