House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) didn’t say much after his chamber voted to go to conference with the Senate over the temporary government spending bill — a move that shut the government down Tuesday.
“The House has made its position known very clearly. We believe we should fund government, and we think there ought to basic fairness for all Americans under Obamacare,” Boehner said. “The Senate has continued to reject our offers, but under the Constitution, there’s a way to resolve this problem and that is to go to conference and talk through your differences. I would hope that the Senate would accept our offer to go to conference and discuss this so that we can resolve this for the American people.”
He took two questions. Asked if the House would vote on a government spending bill without changes to Obamacare, Boehner was evasive.
“We are hoping that the Senate will take our offer to go to conference and let us resolve our differences,” Boehner said.
Asked what he would say to federal employees who would be affected by the shutdown, he ignored the question.
“The House has voted to keep the government open, but we also want basic fairness under Obamacare,” Boehner said.
He then walked away from the microphones.
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