The fight over the government shutdown appeared on Thursday to be moving toward a bigger showdown over raising the nation’s debt ceiling, after the first White House talks to solve the fiscal standoff failed to make any progress toward a deal.
On Capitol Hill, senior Republicans have begun to suggest that a broad agreement to overhaul entitlements and the tax code could be used as a resolution to both the shutdown and debt-limit clash. But Democrats view that approach as hostage-taking, and say Congress must reopen the government and authorize additional borrowing before serious negotiations can occur.
Graphic
House shutdown vote tracker: See which Republicans say they will vote for a “clean” spending bill to end the shutdown.
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Get the latest news on the budget fight and a possible government shutdown in this daily newsletter.
Zachary A. Goldfarb
A meeting between the president and congressional leaders fails to yield a deal, and Obama warns of a potential default if the debt ceiling is not raised.
Ed O’Keefe
Dozens of members of both parties and chambers say they’ll donate to pay the debt, or to charity.
Zachary A. Goldfarb
Funding bill showdown is culmination of years of effort to downsize government.
At the White House, President Obama joined the Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress in a 90-minute meeting Wednesday evening that Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate minority leader, called “cordial but unproductive.”
Obama and business leaders warned that the clash has raised the chances of a historic default on the national debt, which would occur if Congress doesn’t agree to raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling later this month and could cause a new recession. Obama said investors should take more seriously the threat of a potential default, which global markets have brushed off for months as Washington’s usual partisan theatrics.
“This time, I think Wall Street should be concerned,” Obama said on CNBC. “When you have a situation in which a faction is willing to default on U.S. obligations, then we are in trouble.”
Leaders of both parties said after the White House meeting that Republican demands to defund or delay Obama’s signature health law, which helped lead to this week’s shutdown, remain a critical obstacle to any agreement.
A growing number of Republicans in the House — 19 as of late Wednesday night — say they would support a bill to fund the government that does not require changes in the health-care law. Democratic leaders say they could combine those votes with the votes of all 200 House Democrats to pass a “clean” bill and end the crisis. But House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) is extremely unlikely to allow such a vote, because it would jeopardize his standing with the critical far-right conservative bloc of his party.
Boehner left the White House on Wednesday urging the president and Democratic lawmakers to agree to negotiate and make concessions in order to pass a funding bill.
“We’ve got divided government. Democrats control the Senate, Republicans control the House,” he said. “All we’re asking for here is a discussion and fairness for the American people under Obamacare.”
But Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the president was unbending, calling him “strong, strong, strong.”
Reid added: “One thing we made very clear in that meeting: We are locked in tight on Obamacare.”
The back-and-forth came on the second day of a partial government shutdown that has furloughed 800,000 federal workers — most of them living outside of Washington — and appears likely to remain for an extended period of time.
The next crucial deadline comes on Oct. 17, the last day that the Treasury Department estimates that the federal government is certain to have enough money to pay all its bills. Investors have also been demanding higher interest rates for U.S. Treasury bills in recent days, a sign of concern that the federal government could have trouble servicing its debt.
On Capitol Hill, senior Republicans have begun to suggest that a broad agreement to overhaul entitlements and the tax code could be used as a resolution to both the shutdown and debt-limit clash. But Democrats view that approach as hostage-taking, and say Congress must reopen the government and authorize additional borrowing before serious negotiations can occur.
Graphic
House shutdown vote tracker: See which Republicans say they will vote for a “clean” spending bill to end the shutdown.
Read more:
Get the latest news on the budget fight and a possible government shutdown in this daily newsletter.Zachary A. Goldfarb A meeting between the president and congressional leaders fails to yield a deal, and Obama warns of a potential default if the debt ceiling is not raised.
Ed O’Keefe Dozens of members of both parties and chambers say they’ll donate to pay the debt, or to charity.
Zachary A. Goldfarb Funding bill showdown is culmination of years of effort to downsize government.
At the White House, President Obama joined the Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress in a 90-minute meeting Wednesday evening that Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the Senate minority leader, called “cordial but unproductive.”
Obama and business leaders warned that the clash has raised the chances of a historic default on the national debt, which would occur if Congress doesn’t agree to raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling later this month and could cause a new recession. Obama said investors should take more seriously the threat of a potential default, which global markets have brushed off for months as Washington’s usual partisan theatrics.
“This time, I think Wall Street should be concerned,” Obama said on CNBC. “When you have a situation in which a faction is willing to default on U.S. obligations, then we are in trouble.”
Leaders of both parties said after the White House meeting that Republican demands to defund or delay Obama’s signature health law, which helped lead to this week’s shutdown, remain a critical obstacle to any agreement.
A growing number of Republicans in the House — 19 as of late Wednesday night — say they would support a bill to fund the government that does not require changes in the health-care law. Democratic leaders say they could combine those votes with the votes of all 200 House Democrats to pass a “clean” bill and end the crisis. But House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) is extremely unlikely to allow such a vote, because it would jeopardize his standing with the critical far-right conservative bloc of his party.
Boehner left the White House on Wednesday urging the president and Democratic lawmakers to agree to negotiate and make concessions in order to pass a funding bill.
“We’ve got divided government. Democrats control the Senate, Republicans control the House,” he said. “All we’re asking for here is a discussion and fairness for the American people under Obamacare.”
But Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the president was unbending, calling him “strong, strong, strong.”
Reid added: “One thing we made very clear in that meeting: We are locked in tight on Obamacare.”
The back-and-forth came on the second day of a partial government shutdown that has furloughed 800,000 federal workers — most of them living outside of Washington — and appears likely to remain for an extended period of time.
The next crucial deadline comes on Oct. 17, the last day that the Treasury Department estimates that the federal government is certain to have enough money to pay all its bills. Investors have also been demanding higher interest rates for U.S. Treasury bills in recent days, a sign of concern that the federal government could have trouble servicing its debt.