McKeon: Obama should negotiate

House Arms Service Committee Chairman Rep. Buck Mckeon (R-Calif.) pushed President Obama to negotiate on the federal government shutdown in the Republican weekly address on Saturday.

{mosads}“The House has passed more than a dozen bills providing funding for things we can all agree on,” McKeon said. “Veterans, cancer research, National Guard, national parks, Head Start, food safety, flight safety, border security, nuclear weapon security, and more. President Obama and Senate Democrats should back these bills immediately. Then the president should work with us on plans to reopen the entire government and make sure we do not default on our debts.”

McKeon sounded optimistic about budget talks that took place with Obama late in the week.

“To that end, a group of House Republicans, including myself, went to the White House on Thursday to talk with the president and see where we can find common ground,” he said. ”Those conversations are continuing. Now, I’m sure all this back-and-forth has sounded like the typical Washington drama. But politics isn’t about politicians. It isn’t about Washington. It’s about you and your family.”

The shutdown of the federal government has spawned 11 days, but McKeon expressed confidence that lawmakers would reach a resolution soon.

“For all the focus on disagreements in Washington, we’ve actually found some common ground this week,” he said. On Thursday, President Obama signed legislation to pay death benefits to families of fallen troops during the shutdown.

We’ve also come together to ensure that members of our military and the civilians who support them will be paid no matter what. We shouldn’t stop there,” he added.