Rebuffing Republican demands that he concede ground on Obamacare to get a government spending bill passed, President Obama said Monday that funding the government “is not a concession to me.”
“One faction of one party in one house of Congress, in one branch of government, does not get to shut down the entire government just to refight the results of an election,” Obama said. “Keeping the people’s government open is not a concession to me. Keeping vital services running and hundreds of thousands of Americans on the job is not something you give to the other side. It is our basic responsibility.”
“You do not get to extract a ransom for doing your job, for doing what you are supposed to be doing anyway or just because there is a law there that you do not like,” Obama said. “The American people sent us here to govern. They sent us here to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make their lives a little bit after, trade new jobs, to restore economic security, to rebuild the prospects of upward mobility. That is what they expect.”
Obama also reiterated that the ACA would continue even if the government shuts down. “The Affordable Care Act is moving forward. That funding is already in place,” the president said. “You cannot shut it down.”
The federal government would shut down Tuesday if Congress fails to pass a new spending bill.
