Obama: Government shutdown over budget 'inexcusable'

 

US President Barack Obama has said it would be "inexcusable" for lawmakers to fail to fund the government to the end of September to avoid a shutdown.

"There is no reason why we should not get an agreement," the president said.

Congressional leaders and Mr Obama failed to reach a federal budget deal in talks in Washington on Tuesday.

Mr Obama said he was concerned politics could get in the way of preventing a government shutdown

Following his visit to the White House, House Speaker John Boehner said Republicans would not accept options they did not wish to endorse.

Negotiations have stalled over legislation to fund the day-to-day operations of US federal agencies to the end of the fiscal year, with the Republicans demanding greater spending cuts.

Democrats have accused Republicans of linking social policy agendas to the bill.

Mr Boehner and Mr Obama were attempting to resolve a plan that has the potential to cut $33bn (£20bn) from this year's spending levels and ensure the government does not shut down when a temporary funding measure expires at midnight on Friday.

'Politics and ideology'

Following the meeting, Mr Obama said his administration and House Republicans were closer than they had ever been to coming to an agreement.

"The only question is whether politics and ideology will get in the way of preventing a government shutdown," he said, adding that he was prepared to meet for as long as it took to finalise a deal.

House Speaker John Boehner met Mr Obama at the White House on Tuesday

"The last thing we need is a disruption caused by a government shutdown," he said.

Shortly after Mr Obama's speech, Mr Boehner said Republicans wanted to avoid a government shutdown but also wished to achieve the largest possible spending cuts.

"We believe cutting spending will help us create jobs in America," Mr Boehner said.

Mr Boehner said in a statement that he had told Mr Obama that "in lieu of an agreement in which the White House and Senate agree to real spending cuts", House Republicans were rallying behind a stop-gap bill.

The measure, which includes $12bn (£7.3bn) in immediate spending cuts and enough funds to keep the Pentagon running to the end of September, is aimed at preventing a shutdown, Mr Boehner said.

Shutdown preparations

Mr Boehner said he disputed White House assertions that Democrats and Republicans had agreed to set cuts in spending at $33bn. Republicans want $61bn in cuts.

Republicans on Monday unveiled proposals instructing lawmakers on how the Republican-controlled House would operate if Democrats in the Senate shut down the government.

The White House also advised government agencies on Monday to prepare for a shutdown.

The BBC's Katie Connolly, in Washington, says that although there has not been a US government shutdown since 1995, the US government shut down 10 times during the Carter and Reagan administrations.

Shutdowns happen because a law passed in 1870 prohibits the government from operating if a budget has not been passed, except in the case of emergencies.

But that law has been interpreted to exempt so-called essential services, including national security, air traffic control, in-patient medical services, emergency out-patient medicine, disaster assistance, prisons, borrowing and taxation, and electricity production, our correspondent adds.

Earlier, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, released a longer-term plan to slash the budget deficit by about $5 trillion over the coming decade.

In a Wall Street Journal article published on Tuesday, Mr Ryan said Republicans would propose cutting $6.2tn in spending from Mr Obama's budget over the next 10 years.

He has also said that lawmakers must find a way to come to deal with a lack of funds going into Medicaid and Medicare, two government programmes he has said are driving the federal debt.