Obama, congressional leaders to talk on shutdown
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More talks, but no negotiations.
President Barack Obama invited congressional leaders to the White House on Wednesday, the second day of a federal government shutdown over a stalemate on spending and Republican efforts to defund or delay Obamacare.
The 5:30 p.m. ET meeting with House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will include a briefing on the havoc caused by failing to fund the government or pay its bills.
However, Obama made clear that he won’t make concessions or engage in give-and-take negotiations on Wednesday with Boehner, whose Republican caucus demands anti-Obamacare provisions be attached to any spending plan needed to end the shutdown.
In an interview with CNBC, Obama said he was “prepared to negotiate on anything” regarding the federal budget — but only after Congress passes “a clean piece of legislation that reopens the government” and “allows (the U.S.) Treasury to pay for things that Congress itself already authorized.”
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