The grim possibility of a partial shutdown of the US Government looms large with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives having passed a Bill that to defund President Obama’s ambitious healthcare reform package while continuing funding of federal agencies for three months.
With the Democrat-controlled Senate now preparing to defeat the House push, Congressional watchers have warned that without a compromise between the two sides, the US Government would indeed be hurtling towards a shutdown with effect from October 1, the start of the new American fiscal year. For now, both sides have hardened their positions. Obama, resolute on the implementation of his signature “Obamacare” initiative, has charged that the Grand Old Party was “trying to mess with me”.
In strongly-worded comments at an event in liberty, Missouri, Obama slammed the Republicans, saying: “They’re willing to plunge America into default, if we can’t defund Obamacare. They’re not focused on you (the American people). They’re focused on politics. They’re focused on trying to mess with me.”In a Friday vote on partisan lines, the House passed the bill to defund Obamacare by 230-189.