Obama Weighs In On Budget Talks, Says Compromise "Within Reach"

The White House and Congressional leaders are close to striking a deal on funding for the remainder of the fiscal year, President Barack Obama claimed Friday.

“Both sides are close,” Obama said during an appearance at a Maryland-based UPS facility. “We know that a compromise is within reach.”

Obama has thus far remained at arms-length from the budget negotiations, instead delegating Vice President Joe Biden for the on-the-Hill talks with Congressional leaders.

Federal spending is currently set to run out next Friday if a consensus isn’t reached, a scenario Obama warned against.

“If the budget negotiations break down, we could end up having to shut down the government, just at a time that the economy is starting to recover,” Obama said. “It would be the height of responsibility to halt our economic momentum because of the same old Washington politics.”

Vice President Joe Bide and John Boehner gave conflicting accounts of the negotiations this week. Biden told reporters that both parties had landed on $73 billion in cuts, whereas Boehner has said that no number has been agreed to yet.

Obama remarked Friday that “neither Democrats or Republicans should get 100 percent of what they want,” but the White House has indicated they’ll oppose any cuts that threaten the government’s long-term investments.