PANews reported on October 1st that the White House has officially declared an impending government shutdown after the US Senate failed to pass a Republican-backed spending bill intended to keep federal agencies operating until November 21st. A memo released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) stated that current federal funding levels "will expire tonight at 11:59 PM." The memo stated, "Unfortunately, Democratic senators are blocking passage of HR 5371 in the Senate with their unreasonable policy demands, including $1 trillion in new spending." The OMB instructed affected agencies to immediately initiate their orderly shutdown plans, stating that the duration of the shutdown is difficult to predict due to the uncertainty of how long Democrats will maintain their unsustainable stance.