09/10/2013 10:36
Obama: Republicans using 'extortion' on debt limit
US President Obama has said he is willing to hold budget talks with Republicans, but not until they agree to lift "threats" against the economy, the BBC reported.
Republicans "don't get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their jobs,'' Mr Obama said, by demanding concessions in policy before reopening government.
The US government shut down last week when Congress failed to agree a budget.
Republican leaders on Tuesday renewed their calls for Mr Obama to open negotiations over ending the impasses.
Republican House Speaker John Boehner told reporters he was "disappointed that the president refuses to negotiate."
He said the president's position not to talk with Republicans "until [they] surrender" was not sustainable, and any discussions regarding the debt ceiling must address how the nation is "living beyond its means."
At the White House, Mr Obama said he had spoken to Mr Boehner and was "happy to talk with him and other Republicans about anything."
But Mr Obama said any negotiations on the ongoing government shutdown or the debt limit "shouldn't require hanging the threats of a shutdown or economic chaos over the heads of the American people."
"We can't make extortion routine as part of our democracy," Mr Obama said. "Democracy doesn't function this way. And this is not just for me. It's also for my successors in office, whatever party they're from."