White House Calls House GOP Plan A Move ‘To Shut Down The Government’

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney speaks during his daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 22, 2013.
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The White House labeled House Republicans’ latest continuing resolution proposal a move to “shut down the government.”

The statement, by White House press secretary Jay Carney, came a few hours after House Republicans unveiled their latest proposal. The government funding plan includes a one-year delay of Obamacare and a medical device tax repeal. Top Democrats quickly panned the proposal.

Here’s Carney’s statement:

Today Republicans in the House of Representatives moved to shut down the government. Congress has two jobs to do: pass budgets and pay the bills it has racked up. Republicans in Congress had the opportunity to pass a routine, simple continuing resolution that keeps the government running for a few more weeks. But instead, Republicans decided they would rather make an ideological point by demanding the sabotage of the health care law. Republicans have tried and failed to defund or delay the health care law more than 40 times, and they know this demand is reckless and irresponsible. The President has shown that he is willing to improve the health care law and meet Republicans more than halfway to deal with our fiscal challenges, but he will not do so under threats of a government shutdown that will hurt our economy. Any member of the Republican Party who votes for this bill is voting for a shutdown. It’s time for the House to listen to the American people and act, as the Senate has, in a reasonable way to pass a bill that keeps the government running and move on.

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