By DONNA CASSATA
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Senate has voted to reject the latest House Republican effort to negotiate on the budget amid the government shutdown.
The party-line vote was 54-46 today. The Senate turned aside a House request to name negotiators to a conference to resolve differences.
Majority Leader Harry Reid said he wouldn't negotiate as long as Republicans were holding up a straightforward spending bill to keep the government operating.
The vote marked the fourth time during this fight that the Democratic-controlled Senate has rejected House Republican efforts. The political stalemate that has triggered the first government shutdown in 17 years.