THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY
The President believes that we must work together to balance the budget consistent with our values and free from threats of shutting down the government or sending the nation into default for the first time in our history.
That is why he has called on Congress to pass a fair and clean continuing resolution and debt extension free of extreme conditions.
The President is not willing to impose an $11 a month premium increase on every single Medicare beneficiary as a condition for keeping the government running.
The President would like to meet with the Bipartisan Congressional leadership tomorrow in the Oval Office to work out how best to keep the government running and out of default, if the Republicans agree to drop their $11 a month Medicare premium increase.