Furlough notices out to presidential budget staff

(AP) WASHINGTON - The White House says 480 workers on the president’s budget staff have been notified they may have to take days off without pay because of a partisan budget stalemate.

Press secretary Jay Carney wouldn’t say whether notices have gone out to other aides to President Barack Obama outside the Office of Management and Budget, including senior staff in the West Wing. But he says pay cuts remain a possibility for additional White House employees if a budget deal isn’t reached.

Every federal agency is grappling with spending cuts. Carney says the White House also has been trying to cut costs by slowing down hiring, scaling back supply purchases, curtailing staff travel, reducing the use of air cards for mobile Internet access and reviewing contracts to look for savings.