House Passes One-Week U.S. Budget Extension; Obama Would Veto
April 07, 2011, 2:40 PM EDTBy Laura Litvan
April 7 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House approved a stopgap spending bill to keep the government open through next week, although President Barack Obama said he would veto the measure and a shutdown still looms.
The measure, passed 247-181, would cut another $12 billion in spending this year and fund the Pentagon at current levels through Sept. 30. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, called the bill a “non-starter.”
Reid and House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, returned to the White House today to meet with Obama for talks to try to avert a shutdown at midnight tomorrow.
Leaders of both parties insist they don’t want a shutdown while they maneuver to avoid blame if one occurs.
An administration statement, in threatening a veto of the short-term House measure, said it would be a “distraction” from the budget talks. Reid said the one-week measure is a sure “way to close the government.”
Boehner called on the Senate to act on the bill.
“There is absolutely no policy reason for the Senate not to follow the House in taking these responsible steps to support our troops and keep our government open,” he said on the House floor.
--Editors: Laurie Asseo, Don Frederick.
To contact the reporters on this story: Laura Litvan in Washington at llitvan@bloomberg.net; Catherine Dodge in Washington at cdodge1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net
