Washington, DC – President Barack Obama said on Thursday he will not sign another short-term continuing resolution in December, and he called on Congress to repeal what he called “some of the counterproductive austerity measures that they have put in place.”
The president spoke at a White House news conference on Thursday (Oct 2).
The government is open and operating under a continuing resolution through Dec. 11. Obama called the continuing resolution a “gimmick” that sets up another crisis just two weeks before Christmas.
“This is not the way the United States should be operating,” the president said. “Oftentimes, I hear from folks up on Capitol Hill [about] the need for American leadership, the need for America to be No. 1. Well, you know what? Around the globe, part of what makes us a leader is when we govern effectively and we keep our own house in order and we pass budgets and we can engage in long-term planning, and we can invest in the things that are important for the future. That’s US leadership.”
Firm Budget Needed
The government cannot simply continue kicking the can down the road, Obama said, and a firm budget is needed for Americans to do long-term planning. “That’s true for our military, true for our domestic programs,” he added. He warned Congress he will not sign another continuing resolution in December.
“I will not sign another short-sighted spending bill like the one Congress sent me this week,” he said. “We purchased ourselves 10 additional weeks; we need to use them effectively.”
The president also called on Congress to end sequestration spending cuts in any budget it sends to his desk. He said sequestration cuts have hurt the military and the economy.
“It’s time to undo them,” he said. “If we don’t, then we will have to fund our economic and national security priorities in 2016 at the same levels that we did in 2006.”
Since 2006, the US economy has grown by 12 percent, and the American population by 8 percent. “New threats have emerged. New opportunities have appeared,” the president said.