BUDGET BATTLE

Obama: I’ll Veto a Stopgap Budget

Boehner says he’ll introduce bill anyway.

This is not the way to keep the federal government running: With the clock ticking before a government shutdown kicks in on Friday, House Speaker John Boehner said today that he would introduce a bill in the Republican-led chamber that would keep the government running for another week—and make some deep spending cuts, too. President Obama, however, has threatened a veto on the measure, calling it a “distraction” from the real business of finding a compromise that will last through the end of the 2011 fiscal year. The administration said it would, however, accept a “clean” resolution that would keep the government running for another week while keeping the status quo. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor fired back, saying, "To be clear, if the President vetoes this bill and shuts the government down, our men and women in uniform serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world will not be paid." Negotiations this afternoon have broken down, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the two sides will reconvene at 7 p.m.