President Obama invited congressional leaders to WH to discuss the budget standoff & debt ceiling

Last edited Wed Oct 2, 2013, 01:09 PM - Edit history (1)

President Obama on Wednesday canceled part of his upcoming trip to Asia and invited congressional leaders to the White House to discuss the budget standoff that has shut down parts of the federal government for the first time in 17 years.

According to a White House official, the top four leaders of both parties from both houses were invited to meet with Obama at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time. The president will urge the House to pass a “clean” continuing resolution — without what Obama has called “ideological demands” such as riders aimed at undermining his signature health-care law — so that the government can reopen.
<snip>
Obama also will “call on Congress to act to raise the debt ceiling to pay the bills we have already incurred and avoid devastating consequences on our economy,” the official said.

The invitees include House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

A spokesman for Boehner, Brendan Buck, described the invitation as the beginning of negotiations with the White House, despite Obama’s stated refusal to put his Affordable Care Act on the table or negotiate over the debt ceiling.
<snip>
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-cancels-part-of-asia-trip-washington-braces-for-prolonged-budget-battle/2013/10/02/e035be98-2b4b-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html

Past is prologue?
Hope not.