Obama: 'Politics and ideology' should not trigger shutdown
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AP
"There is no reason why we shouldn't get an agreement," Obama said.
Obama spoke hours after he and House Speaker John Boehner were unable to strike a budget deal today, increasing the chances of a federal government shutdown this weekend.
Obama also announced that the top two congressional leaders -- Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada -- will meet today at 4 p.m. to try and resolve remaining budget disputes.
If they can't, Obama said he wants Boehner and Reid back at the White House tomorrow -- and for as many days ahead as necessary.
"We are prepared to meet as long as possible to get this resolved," Obama said at the White House.
Earlier, Boehner's office released a readout of this morning's meeting saying that "while there was good discussion, no agreement was reached" and that House Republicans "will not be put in a box and forced to choose between two options that are bad for the country."
If the parties cannot agree by Friday, the continuing resolution that is funding the government will expire and the government will shut down except for what are deemed essential services.
The Boehner readout did say that House Republicans are "rallying behind" a one-week extension of the continuing resolution that would cut $12 billion in spending and fund the military through September.
It is unclear whether the White House and congressional Democrats would go for another temporary budget measure, the third in recent months.
Before the sit-down, Obama spokesman Jay Carney said the White House is optimistic that something can be worked out and that Democrats and Republicans have agreed to $73 billion in budget cuts.
In his statement, Boehner said there is no agreement on a number, that Republicans want as many cuts as possible.
Boehner's statement referenced the fact that most of the Democrats' $73 billion involves budget items that have never passed; the cuts from existing budgets are more like $33 billion.
"As he has said for the past week, the Speaker reminded those present that there has never been an agreement on $33 billion as an acceptable level of spending cuts," said the House Republican readout. "And that $33 billion in cuts is not enough, particularly when it is achieved in large part through budget gimmicks."
The president "believes that time is of the essence," Carney said. "He believes very strongly that an agreement is in reach."
White House aides said Obama wants to cut spending, but not programs essential to economic development, including education, infrastructure, and research and development.
"We agree we need to cut spending," Obama said. "The president believes we need to cut spending responsibly."
Before heading to the White House, Boehner issued a statement praising a long-term spending plan put forth by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., calling for $4.4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade.
"The American people understand we can't continue spending money we don't have," Boehner said, "especially when doing so is making it harder to create jobs and get our economy back on track."
The top Democrat in the Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, also attended the meeting. So did the chairmen of key appropriations committees: Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky.
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