President Obama speaks April 6 at the White House after a late-night budget negotiation session with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. With hours looming until a possible government shutdown, Obama threatened to veto a Republican-drafted, one-week continuing resolution. (Nicholas Kamm / Agence France-Presse)
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President Obama on Thursday threatened to veto a temporary spending bill that would avoid a government shutdown for one more week.
Obama said Tuesday he would support a short-term, clean CR if negotiations toward passing a final 2011 budget were making progress. But lawmakers are still not close to a budget deal, and the White House said the Republican-drafted one-week extension, HR 1363, "simply delays that critical final outcome."
"This bill is a distraction from the real work that would bring us closer to a reasonable compromise for funding the remainder of fiscal year 2011 and avert a disruptive federal government shutdown that would put the nation's economic recovery in jeopardy," the White House's statement of administration policy said. "It is critical that the Congress send a final bill to the president's desk that provides certainty to our men and women in military uniform, their families, small businesses, homeowners, taxpayers and all Americans."
HR 1363 would cut $12 billion in discretionary spending, and fund the Defense Department for the rest of fiscal 2011.
Funding for the government run outs Friday. If more funding is not approved by then, about 800,000 federal employees will be furloughed.
Related reading
• http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110407/AGENCY01/104070303/1001">Harry Reid: Shutdown appears likely (April 7)
• http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20110407/AGENCY01/104070302/1001">Obama, Boehner, Reid upbeat after late-night budget meeting (April 7)
