Obama urges House Republicans to avert shutdown

WASHINGTON (28/9) - MarketWatch - President Barack Obama on Friday urged House Republicans to avert a government shutdown by approving a measure to keep the government running until mid-November. If House Republicans and Senate Democrats cannot reach a compromise on legislation keeping the government open by Tuesday morning, federal workers will have to stay home. Obama said he would not accept any measure that tied changes to his signature health-care law to keeping the government running. The threat of a shutdown already is having 'a dampening effect on the economy,' he said. The president also again urged Congress to raise the federal debt ceiling and said he would not negotiate on the issue. Failing to act on the debt limit would be 'far more dangerous than a government shutdown,' Obama said. 'It would be an economic shutdown, with impacts not just here but around the world,' he said. The White House has told Congress it must increase the debt limit by Oct. 17 or Treasury may run out of cash to pay its bills. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-urges-house-republicans-to-avert-shutdown-2013-09-27-16912852