White House rebuffs Boehner on budget talks

It’s up to Congress to begin negotiations over easing the spending limits under sequestration, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday.

“Ultimately, this is something that Congress must resolve,” Earnest told reporters, responding to a remark Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) made earlier in the day on Capitol Hill.

At his weekly press conference Thursday morning, Boehner was asked whether he would sit down with President Obama to initiate talks over sequestration ceilings, which will take effect again on Oct. 1.

“He hasn’t asked. He hasn’t asked. It’s as simple as that,” Boehner said. “And we’ve got a plan. We’ve got a plan that gives him what he wants for defense and keeps the caps in place. And if he wants to have a budget negotiation, all he has to do is ask. I’m a pretty reasonable guy.”

Earnest said the White House has already shown a “willingness” to play a supportive role in future talks and has done its part by pitching a budget to Congress that would raise the spending caps.

“Now it’s time for Congress to step up and do their jobs,” Earnest said.

Republicans are proposing to boost military spending through an off-budget war fund that many lawmakers regard as a “slush fund.” The White House has made clear President Obama would only sign funding bills that provide equal increases for both defense and nondefense programs. 

Senate Democrats this week demanded that Congress hold a budget summit over the spending limits in the coming month.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), however, rejected the invite and said now is not the time to hold such negotiations.

On Wednesday, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), one of the architects of a 2013 deal to lift spending caps for two years, sent a message to Republicans: Come to the negotiating table now or risk a government shutdown this fall.

Congress has until Oct. 1 to pass spending for the next fiscal year. So far, the House has passed five of a dozen spending measures.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are poised to block all 12 spending bills, until the spending limits are increased equally for the Pentagon and domestic programs.

— Jordan Fabian contributed.