US President Barack Obama demanded an end to a three-day government shutdown he decried as a reckless "farce," piling pressure on Republicans Thursday to climb down first on a budget impasse.
The US Treasury meanwhile warned of "catastrophic" consequences if there is no deal within weeks to raise the US debt ceiling, and the IMF chief said finding a way out of that next crisis was "mission critical."
Obama traveled to the Washington suburbs to lambaste Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who emerged from a White House meeting late on Wednesday complaining that Obama would not negotiate with him.
"Take a vote, stop this farce and end this shutdown right now," Obama said during a fiery speech in the Maryland suburb of Rockville, which is home to many federal workers laid off in the shutdown.
Branding the crisis a "reckless Republican shutdown," Obama said that Boehner could reopen the government and get hundreds of thousands of people back to work "in just five minutes" by passing a temporary operating budget with no partisan strings attached.
"Speaker John Boehner won't even let the bill get a yes or no vote, because he doesn't want to anger the extremists in his party," Obama said.
The government ran out of money on Monday, after Congress failed to pass a budget, forcing authorities to send all non-essential workers home and to close museums, monuments and national parks that are all popular with tourists.
The Democratic-led Senate had turned back repeated Republican efforts to pass a budget while defunding or delaying Obama's health care law, which is a centerpiece of his political legacy and reviled by Tea Party conservatives.
The talks at the White House between Obama and congressional leaders made no progress, and there is no sign that the dispute will be solved before dragging into a second week.
Attention is increasingly turning to the next fight -- over Congress's responsibility to raise the $16.7 trillion US statutory borrowing limit.
If there is no resolution before October 17, the government could begin running out of money to pay its bills and an unprecedented US debt default could result.
But Republicans are again demanding concessions on Obamacare before voting to raise the debt ceiling, raising fears of unpredictable consequences, which the Treasury said in a report Thursday could plunge the United States into deep recession and rock global markets.
"In the event that a debt limit impasse were to lead to a default, it could have a catastrophic effect on not just financial markets but also on job creation, consumer spending and economic growth," the report said.
"Credit markets could freeze, the value of the dollar could plummet, US interest rates could skyrocket, the negative spillovers could reverberate around the world, and there might be a financial crisis and recession that could echo the events of 2008 or worse."
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said finding a way out of the debt limit dead end as soon as possible was "mission critical."
The New York Times reported Thursday that Boehner had privately told House Republicans that he understood the dangers of a default and was ready to pass a debt limit increase with the help of minority Democrats if necessary.
Obama has refused to negotiate with Republicans over raising the debt ceiling, saying Congress is simply authorizing borrowing to pay bills it has already run up and that offering concessions would set a poor precedent for future presidents.
In the minds of key players on Capitol Hill, the government shutdown and the debt ceiling fight have now merged into one massive political crisis.
There was some talk among Republicans that Boehner may try to craft a face-saving way out by reviving a stalled drive for a "grand bargain" on debt and spending with Obama.
But there is skepticism on the Democratic side that there is time to pull together a pact -- following repeated
failed attempts in Obama's first term -- before the debt limit needs to be raised by October 17.
The president was meanwhile wrestling with whether to cancel the rest of an already truncated Asia trip that would see him leave on Saturday for the APEC summit in Bali, Indonesia and the East Asia summit in Brunei.
Going ahead would open him to charges of deserting Washington at a time of national crisis.
But Obama is also keen to demonstrate that political problems at home should not be taken as a sign of weakness abroad, and wants to bolster his signature rebalancing of US military and diplomatic power to the dynamic Asian region.
AFP
Thu Oct 03 2013
![Frozen by shutdown, US warns of 'catastrophic' default Frozen by shutdown, US warns of 'catastrophic' default](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2012-12/71355981551_295x200.jpg)
![Simbah cat merah, orang suruhan ah long didenda RM3,000 Simbah cat merah, orang suruhan ah long didenda RM3,000](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723705134_TBAhLong.jpg)
Simbah cat merah, orang suruhan ah long didenda RM3,000
Seorang orang suruhan ah long mengaku bersalah atas pertuduhan menyimbah cat merah di rumah keluarga peminjam, Januari lalu.
![Latihan berstruktur sektor ekonomi digital berjaya stabilkan pendapatan, perniagaan asnaf Latihan berstruktur sektor ekonomi digital berjaya stabilkan pendapatan, perniagaan asnaf](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/51723705177_TBMyREF.jpg)
Latihan berstruktur sektor ekonomi digital berjaya stabilkan pendapatan, perniagaan asnaf
Lebih daripada 30 asnaf bersama ahli keluarga mereka telah diraikan di Majlis Graduasi MyREF Hijrahpreneur Skills Program (MyREF HSP) di Auditorium High Impact Research, Universiti Malaya.
![Polis sahkan pemain bola sepak bawa kerambit sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol Polis sahkan pemain bola sepak bawa kerambit sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/71723704577_RusdiMohdIsa.jpg)
Polis sahkan pemain bola sepak bawa kerambit sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol
Polis telah mengenal pasti seorang pemain bola sepak yang ditahan kerana membawa kerambit ke padang bola, sebagai suspek kes baling bom petrol di sebuah pusat hiburan di ibu negara.
![Bernama, Perkeso meterai MoU, manfaat 493 pengamal media sambilan Bernama, Perkeso meterai MoU, manfaat 493 pengamal media sambilan](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/71723703465_TBperkeso.jpg)
Bernama, Perkeso meterai MoU, manfaat 493 pengamal media sambilan
Bernama dan Perkeso menandatangani MoU bagi memperluas perlindungan sosial kepada pengamal media sambilan (stringers) melalui Skim Keselamatan Sosial Pekerjaan Sendiri (SKSPS).
![RADIO 360: Integrasi teknologi kumpul maklumat, data lebih komprehensif RADIO 360: Integrasi teknologi kumpul maklumat, data lebih komprehensif](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/81723701143_TBastro.jpg)
RADIO 360: Integrasi teknologi kumpul maklumat, data lebih komprehensif
RADIO 360 merentasi 11 stesen radio Astro yang boleh diakses di aplikasi SYOK termasuk Era, Sinar, Gegar, Hitz, Mix, My dan Raaga.
AWANI Ringkas: Pemain bola bawa kerambit juga suspek baling bom petrol
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
![Enam mengaku tidak bersalah culik warga China Enam mengaku tidak bersalah culik warga China](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/81723702959_TBMahkamahSesyen.jpg)
Enam mengaku tidak bersalah culik warga China
Sepasang suami isteri dan empat individu didakwa menculik seorang lelaki warga China untuk mendapatkan wang tebusan berbentuk mata wang kripto.
![Bursa gantung jualan singkat SP Setia Bursa gantung jualan singkat SP Setia](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61722341186_BursaMalaysia.jpg)
Bursa gantung jualan singkat SP Setia
Bursa Malaysia menggantung jualan singkat SP Setia Bhd bagi baki tempoh hari ini selepas penyusutan harga yang ketara.
![MITI mula siasat duti antilambakan import gulungan rata besi disadur timah MITI mula siasat duti antilambakan import gulungan rata besi disadur timah](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723697210_TBMiti.jpg)
MITI mula siasat duti antilambakan import gulungan rata besi disadur timah
MITI menjelaskan tindakan itu diputuskan selepas menerima petisyen daripada pengeluar tempatan, Perusahaan Sadur Timah Malaysia (Perstima) Bhd.
!['Nidza Afham pernah cakap mahu jadi terkenal, tapi bukan macam ini' - Kakak 'Nidza Afham pernah cakap mahu jadi terkenal, tapi bukan macam ini' - Kakak](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-08/61723700126_NidzaAfhammeningg.jpg)
'Nidza Afham pernah cakap mahu jadi terkenal, tapi bukan macam ini' - Kakak
Kakak kepada Allahyarham penyanyi Nidza Afham iaitu Irfahanie memaklumkan adiknya itu pernah berhasrat untuk menjadi penyanyi terkenal.
![Obama serang speaker Republikan punca kerajaan AS lumpuh Obama serang speaker Republikan punca kerajaan AS lumpuh](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2012-12/71355981551_295x200.jpg)
Obama serang speaker Republikan punca kerajaan AS lumpuh
Boehner boleh menyambung semula operasi kerajaan dan mengerahkan puluhan ribu rakyat kembali berkerja "dalam masa lima minit" dengan meluluskan satu belanjawan pengurusan sementara tanpa syarat.