Washington: Efforts to end the US government shutdown and avoid a debt default before the October 17 deadline remained elusive as the White House today dismissed the latest House Republican proposal to resolve the impasse, alleging it was tantamount to “ransom”.
“The President has said repeatedly that Members of Congress don't get to demand ransom for fulfilling their basic responsibilities to pass a budget and pay the nation's bills,” said White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage.
“Unfortunately, the latest proposal from House Republicans does just that in a partisan attempt to appease a small group of Tea Party Republicans who forced the government shutdown in the first place,” she said.
Democrats and Republicans in the Senate were working in a “bipartisan, good-faith effort to end the manufactured crises” that have harmed families and business owners, she said.
