President Obama on Saturday called on Republican lawmakers to “stop this farce” and vote on a funding bill to re-open government.
“Take that vote. Stop this farce. End this shutdown now,” said Obama in his weekly address.
Stay informed.Stay ahead.
Join Washington Examiner for unlimited access to the news, analysis, and commentary that matter most.
Already a member? Log in
Obama’s comments came as Washington entered its fifth day of a federal government shutdown after Congress was unable to pass a funding bill by an Oct. 1 deadline.
House Republicans sought to tie the continuing resolution to efforts to defund or delay Obamacare, which were rejected by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
President Obama has said he will not negotiate over the continuing resolution or the nation’s debt limit. Congress must raise the borrowing limit by Oct. 17 to prevent a default.
Obama said he had received letters from Americans affected by the shutdown and shared some of their stories.
“I’ve talked a lot about the real-world consequences of this shutdown in recent days – the services disrupted; the benefits delayed; the public servants kicked off the job without pay,” said the president. “But today, I want to let the Americans dealing with those real-world consequences have their say. And these are just a few of the many heartbreaking letters I’ve gotten from them in the past couple weeks – including more than 30,000 over the past few days.”
Obama cited a letter from Kelly Mumper, who was concerned about the suspension of Head Start programs, and a note from Julia Pruden, a mother from North Dakota whose loan application to buy a home was on hold.
“These are our fellow Americans. These are the people who sent us here to serve. And I know that Republicans in the House of Representatives are hearing the same kinds of stories, too,” said Obama.
“Pass a budget. End this government shutdown,” the president added. “Pay our bills. Prevent an economic shutdown.”
“These Americans and millions of others are counting on Congress to do the right thing. And I will do everything I can to make sure they do,” said Obama.
