GOP pushes US govt closer to shutdown over Obamacare

House Republicans have pushed the US Government closer to a partial shutdown next week, insisting that President Barack Obama's signature health care law be delayed a year.

The House Republican Conference, once unified behind the measure, was expected to vote late on Saturday night.

House Republicans also intend to advance a bill to pay U.S. troops in the case of a government shutdown.

According to Politico, the decision was announced by the GOP leadership in a closed meeting.

The House's funding measure will keep the government open until mid-December.

Additionally, Republicans will adopt a 'conscience clause' that delays until 2015 an Obamacare requirement that employers cover birth control as part of their health-insurance packages, the report said.

House leadership has cleared a key procedural hurdle when the rule passed for debate on their amendments to the Senate bill.

According to the report, the move puts Senate Democrats and the White House at loggerheads with House Republicans, a standoff that could lead to the first government shutdown since 1995.

Senate Democrats passed a bill to fund the government until Nov. 15, but kept intact Obamacare.