ROCKVILLE, Maryland (AP) — President Barack Obama says the Republican leader of the House is the only thing standing in the way of reopening the federal government.
Obama is speaking at a small business just outside of Washington on the third day of the shutdown. He says House Speaker John Boehner is preventing a vote on a funding bill because he doesn’t want to anger “extremists” in his party.
The president is calling on Boehner to quickly hold a vote on a bill free of extra demands. The president met with Boehner and other congressional leaders at the White House for more than an hour Wednesday, but no agreement was reached.
Obama says the longer the shutdown goes on, the worse the impact on the U.S. economy will be.
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