Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives appear determined to make deep cuts to education and related programs in the temporary spending bill that would keep the federal government operating for the rest of the fiscal year, even as President Barack Obama seeks a modest funding boost next year. That sets up a fiscal face-off in the Democratic-controlled Senate. And, should a bill with severe cuts make it through that chamber, the president has pledged to veto it. The current temporary measure expires March 4, and failure to reach agreement on a new one could mean the first federal government shutdown in more than a decade. The cuts in the federal government's current-year funding headed for a vote today clash sharply with President Obama's vision and threaten a showdown near-term. The measure lurching through the House last week included a more than 16 percent cut to the Education Department's discretionary budget for the current fiscal year, including scrapping more than a dozen K-12 programs and slicing others once considered untouchable, such as Pell Grants to help low-and moderate-income students pay for college. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan told reporters in a Feb. 14 telephone briefing that he's ready to work with lawmakers from all parts of the political spectrum. But he added that the proposed cuts to the current budget would hobble the nation's future economic progress.