US shutdown: White House talks fail to end deadlock

US President Obama and Congressional leaders have failed to break a budget deadlock that has led to a partial government shutdown.

Mr Obama held White House talks with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Senate leader Mitch McConnell as well as their Democratic counterparts.

Mr Boehner left the talks complaining the Democrats "will not negotiate".

Mr Obama said he would not set a precedent where "an extremist wing" of a party holds a government to ransom.

He told CNBC ahead of the meeting that he was "prepared to negotiate on anything" over the budget once Congress passes "a clean piece of legislation that reopens the government".

The US government closed non-essential operations on Tuesday after Congress failed to strike a deal on a new budget.

The shutdown has left more than 700,000 employees on unpaid leave and closed national parks, tourist sites, government websites, office buildings, and more.

However, as one budget crisis raged in Washington DC, another one - potentially more dangerous - looms in the coming weeks.

On 17 October, the US government will run out of cash to pay its bills unless the debt ceiling is raised.

'Locked in tight'

Mr Boehner emerged from Wednesday evening's talks at the White House, saying it had been a "polite conversation" but yielded nothing. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called the talks "unproductive".

"All we're asking for here is a discussion and fairness for the American people under Obamacare,'' Mr Boehner told reporters.

House Minority Leader, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who also attended the meeting, accused the Republicans of "moving the goalposts" on the budget deal.

Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said his party were "locked in tight on Obamacare'' and neither the president nor Democrats in Congress would accept changes to the law as the price for a deal on reopening the government.

The Republicans who control the House of Representatives have demanded concessions from Mr Obama and his fellow Democrats in return for funding the government's continued operation and for raising the debt ceiling.

Chiefly, the Republicans demand the repeal, delay or defunding of a healthcare reform law - dubbed Obamacare - passed by the Democrats in 2010.

Major portions of that law, which was subsequently validated by the US Supreme Court and was a major issue in the 2012 presidential election, took effect on Tuesday.

Analysts say Mr Boehner could end the current government showdown by allowing the House to vote on a "clean" budget bill that does not alter the health law, because that could pass with a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans.

But doing so would risk his standing with the most conservative elements of his caucus.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Obama met the heads of some of Wall Street's biggest banks - including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America - to discuss the debt ceiling and other economic issues.

The bankers are members of the Financial Services Forum, a lobby group which has, along with 250 other businesses, sent a letter to Congress urging it to raise the debt limit by 17 October.

Following the meeting, Mr Obama told CNBC "it's important for them to recognise that this is going to have a profound impact on our economy and their bottom lines".

He said he was "exasperated" by events "because this is entirely unnecessary".

But he said bowing to the demands of any one faction set a dangerous precedent.

"If we get in the habit where a few folks, an extremist wing of one party... are allowed to extort concessions based on a threat of undermining the full faith and credit of the United States, then any president that comes after me... will find themselves unable to govern effectively," he said.

"And that is not something that I'm going to allow to happen."

Your guide to Obamacare: Affordable Care Act to open Oct. 1

Although fierce battles over the healthcare plan continue, New York State has implemented an exchange that will let New Yorkers shop for comprehensive health plans. Many will get affordable health insurance they could not obtain otherwise. ‘Sixty-two percent of bankruptcies are caused by health bills,’ said Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president for health initiatives for the Community Service Society of New York.

It’s finally here: Affordable health insurance.

After years of fierce battles on Capitol Hill — which are still not over as a government shutdown looms — the system of health insurance exchanges, created by President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, is set to open on Oct. 1.

If you are currently uninsured, or are seeking to replace the coverage you have, you can soon start to compare and shop for comprehensive health plans on New York State's official marketplace, New York State of Health.

Many will be entitled to financial aid that will dramatically lower the cost of their plans.

Some 1.1 million New York State residents are expected to buy their health insurance on the state's exchange by the time it is fully implemented, including 615,000 individuals and 450,000 employees of small businesses, according to the New York State Department of Health.

"On Oct. 1, we start a historic time when people will have an opportunity to get very significant help so they can get health coverage," said Ron Pollack, executive director of nonprofit health care advocacy group Families USA.

YOUR GUIDE TO OBAMACARE: PICKING A PLAN DEPENDS ON OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS — NOT JUST PREMIUMS

For some, the exchanges could be a path toward improving their health and their finances.

"Sixty-two percent of bankruptcies are caused by health bills," said Elisabeth Benjamin, vice president for health initiatives for the Community Service Society of New York, which has been chosen by New York State to set up a network to help New Yorkers enroll on the exchange.

"This is an important moment to get health security, and for many, economic security."

Open enrollment begins on Oct. 1 and extends until March 31, 2014. Coverage for those who enroll this year could start as early as Jan. 1.

But even as the curtain lifts on the new insurance marketplaces, many are still in the dark about what it all means.

According to a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, four in 10 people believe the health law has been repealed or overturned. About half say they don't understand how it will impact their own families.

YOUR GUIDE TO OBAMACARE: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

The Daily News is here to help.

This special report will give you a roadmap for understanding your new coverage options.

If you need personal guidance on how to choose a plan, we'll tell you where to find free help.

We'll also clear up some common misconceptions and answer some frequently asked questions.

First, you should know the basics.

As of next year, Medicaid in New York State will be covering more people, including low-income adults without children who had previously been excluded.

Anyone under the age of 65 with an income of less than 138% of the federal poverty level — $15,856 for an individual and $32,499 for a family of four — will be covered.

YOUR GUIDE TO OBAMACARE: YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR SEES VALUE OF NEW YORK’S INSURANCE MARKETPLACE FIRSTHAND

If your income ranges from 138% to 400% of the federal poverty level — up to $45,960 for an individual or $94,200 for a family of four — you may be eligible for financial assistance in purchasing coverage through the exchange.

Subsidies will be sent directly to the insurance company. You will not have to lay out that money and then wait to be reimbursed.

The level of financial aid you receive will be based on your income and your family's size. The savings could be thousands of dollars a year.

"A family won't have to spend more than a small percentage of their income to purchase a plan in the marketplace," said Kathleen Stoll, director of health policy at Families USA.

Let's say you are a family of three in Queens with an annual income of $39,000. If you choose a silver plan — one of the tiers on the exchange — that costs $8,772 a year, the cost of the plan to you will be $2,460 or $201 a month, according to the New York State Department of Health.

YOUR GUIDE TO OBAMACARE: HOW TO SIZE UP HEALTH PLANS WITH THE ONLINE EXCHANGE

The remainder of the premium — $6,312 — will be covered by the subsidy.

Even individuals who don't qualify for subsidies could see lower premiums next year.

Approved 2014 health insurance rates on the exchange will be 53% less expensive than what is currently on the market because more people will be entering the insurance pool, New York State announced.

"Before, the cost of buying an individual policy, particularly in New York, was prohibitive," said Bertram Scott, president of Affinity Health Care, a not-for-profit local health insurance provider that will be participating in New York's insurance marketplace.

"Those who are uninsured will now have access to affordable health care like they never had before."

While the plans from the 16 insurance companies that will be selling on New York's marketplace will vary in cost and will have different doctors and providers in their networks, each must cover the same core set of ten benefits, including maternity care, prescription drug coverage and hospital stays.

YOUR GUIDE TO OBAMACARE: MYTHS ABOUT THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Keep in mind that as of Jan. 1, most people, with exceptions, will be required to have health insurance or pay a penalty if they don't.

The penalty starts at $95 or 1% of your income — whichever is higher — in 2014, and is phased in over time to $695, or 2.5% of your income, by 2016.

No doubt that for many there will be work to be done in making the right decision.

Madeline Aviles, a 60-year-old Bronx resident, has already begun to research the health law and how it will affect her.

She was laid off from her job as a human resources manager at a local hospital in January and is currently uninsured.

When Aviles, who suffers from osteoarthritis in her hand, looked into buying a policy, she found the cost — $500 to $650 a month — prohibitive.

YOUR GUIDE TO OBAMACARE: SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NEW YORK STATE OF HEALTH AND THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

But after speaking to a counselor at Community Health Advocates, a consumer health care program operated by the Community Service Society, she learned that she could be paying as little as $75 to $85 a month for an exchange insurance plan.

"Now I will be able to treat my condition. That is really awesome," Aviles said.

"This program is not only assisting me, it's also going to support my fellow hard-working, tax paying American citizens."

----------------

You are not alone.

There are plenty of places to go to learn more about the exchanges and to get help in enrolling in a plan.

Here are some key resources you need to know about:

New York State of Health's customer service center

Trained reps are ready to take questions by phone from individuals and business owners.

Call toll-free at 1-855-355-5777.

Navigators

Face-to-face guidance will be available at offices set up throughout New York City. Trained experts will be on hand to walk you through the enrollment process.

To find an office near you, go to nystateofhealth.ny.gov.

Information

Do your homework. Check out the following websites to brush up on the insurance marketplace:

Nystateofhealth.ny.gov The official website for New York State of Health.

Healthcare.gov The federal government's official health insurance website.

Kff.org The Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on major health care issues, offers a treasure trove of information and helpful online tools, including an animated video on the Affordable Care Act and a health insurance subsidy calculator.

HealthLawHelper.org. This web-based tool from Consumer Reports offers personalized guidance to help consumers better understand how they may be affected by the Affordable Care Act.

Obama’s Health-Law Premiums Test Limits of Affordability

Health insurance under Obamacare will cost individuals at least $2,988 a year on average, a price that Republican opponents may target as out-of-reach for many Americans who don’t qualify for U.S. subsidies.

While the $249 monthly payment is intended to be discounted through tax credits, less than half of people now buying insurance on their own may get that help. The release of the data by the Obama administration comes just six days before the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges open enrollment, and a day after Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, took the floor of the U.S. Senate to oppose the law.

The affordability of the overhaul has polarized debate since the act passed in 2010. While the law’s cheapest plans offer more care than the minimal policies available today, including guaranteed coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, their cost may persist as an issue even though it affects only a relatively small percentage of people.

The law’s long-term success “will depend on the changes that are made over the next couple of years to address the affordability issue,” said Brian Wright, an insurance analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt & Co. in New York. “If you have modifications that can help address those issues, then it will ultimately be successful. If not, then it’s an open question.”

Premiums nationally are about 16 percent less than the Congressional Budget Office projected in 2012, a factor that the government said should reduce its total cost for the law, now estimated to be about $1.4 trillion over a decade.

Individual Mandate

The act was created to benefit low-income people, including 48 million now uninsured. To help offset the cost of older, sicker individuals in this group, the law mandates that every American buy insurance, including young, healthy adults who pay for health plans but rarely use them.

About 60 percent of the uninsured will find coverage for no more than $100 a month when taking into account subsidies and the effect of Medicaid programs for the poor, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“The prices are affordable,” Gary Cohen, director of the U.S. Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, said on a conference call with reporters.

There are four levels of coverage on the exchanges -- bronze, silver, gold and platinum. Bronze plans, the cheapest and least generous, are designed to cover about 60 percent of medical costs and carry higher deductibles. Platinum plans, the most expensive, cover about 90 percent of costs. They charge higher monthly premiums.

47 States

The report today outlined rates for exchanges in 47 states and illustrates the effect of subsidies available for people earning less than four times the poverty level -- about $94,000 for a family of four.

The rates vary widely by state. The highest prices noted in the data are in Wyoming, where the cheapest bronze plan averages $425 a month for an individual and the cheapest silver plan $489. In Minnesota, prices average $192 a month for the cheapest silver plan and $144 for the lowest bronze plan.

Republicans, who have said the individual mandate curtails personal liberty, have long argued that many Americans will pay more for insurance as a result of the law and that added benefits it brings may not be worth the cost.

The release of exchange premiums comes after the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in July on the cost of insurance individuals buy today. Those data show that Americans who are young and healthy are able to buy inexpensive policies. A 30-year-old nonsmoker can pay as little as $373 a year in Georgia or $1,027 in Alaska, the GAO reported.

Last Step

The release of prices by HHS was the last major public step for the government as it anticipates that at least 7 million people will buy plans in the health law’s insurance exchanges during the open enrollment period that starts Oct. 1 and runs through March 2014.

Republicans have been persistent in their attack of the health law, which passed Congress with no support from their political party. The Texas Republican Cruz has been leading an effort to force Obama to sign a spending bill that eliminates funding for the health law, something the president says he will not do.

“I intend to speak in support of defunding Obamacare until I am no longer able to stand, to do everything that I can to help Americans stand together and recognize this grand experiment three and a half years ago is quite simply not working,” Cruz said late yesterday on the Senate floor.

Average Prices

While some individual consumers may pay more for coverage, average prices in the new exchanges are still lower than what the government expected. That may signal a turn in the debate as the Obama administration asserts itself against Republicans, said Dan Mendelson, the chief executive officer of Washington-based consulting company Avalere Health LLC.

“There are going to be a lot of people who are getting big subsidies, and for the first time in their lives have insurance,” Mendelson said by phone. “At that point it becomes harder to politicize this.”

Administration officials working on the health-care law privately expressed confidence that the lower cost of insurance after subsidies and easier access to care for people with pre-existing conditions will bolster support. They anticipate gaining an entrenched constituency that protects Obamacare from political attack along the lines of Medicare or Social Security.

“Just look for yourself,” Obama said in a speech yesterday at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York, summarizing the pitch. “You will discover that this is a good deal for you.”

Credit Claimed

Obama also has claimed credit for helping to contain medical spending, saying in his February state of the union speech that “already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of health-care costs.”

Medical costs have moderated in the U.S. the past three years, offering relief to the public and private sector alike. Prices for medical care rose 1 percent in July compared with a year earlier, the lowest growth rate since the 1960s, according to U.S. Commerce Department data. Economists have credited the health-care law, a weak economy and less-generous health plans.

At the same time, debate over the law since 2009 has caused businesses and governments to reexamine their role as costs soar and national priorities shift, contributing to a decline in employer-sponsored insurance already underway.

Private Employers

For weeks, headlines have cataloged the upheaval at private employers: United Parcel Service Inc. dropping coverage for employed spouses, International Business Machines Corp. reworking retiree benefits, and Walgreen Co. telling 160,000 workers they must buy insurance through a private exchange rather than having the company arrange their coverage.

About 19 million Americans buy insurance for themselves today, and an estimated 48 percent of them will be eligible for subsidies on the exchanges next year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, a Menlo Park, California-based nonprofit research group.

Avalere Health has calculated that better than 80 percent of customers at the exchanges will receive subsidies, figuring that many people who don’t get a discount won’t make a purchase.

Surveys, however, indicate the White House has a lot of work to do convincing people that it is in their best interest to enroll. Even among people without insurance, only 50 percent are aware that subsidies are available, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Sept. 4-8.

Uninsured Americans are evenly split on whether the health law will benefit them or their families, with 32 percent anticipating a positive impact, 33 percent a negative impact and 30 percent not much effect.

Obama Defends U.S. Engagement in the Middle East

UNITED NATIONS — President Obama on Tuesday laid down a retooled blueprint for America’s role in the strife-torn Middle East, declaring that the United States would use all of its levers of power, including military force, to defend its interests, even as it accepted limits on its ability to influence events in Syria, Iran and other countries.

In a wide-ranging speech to the General Assembly that played off rapid-fire diplomatic developments but also sought to define what he called a “hard-earned humility” about American engagement after 12 years of war, Mr. Obama insisted that the United States still played an “exceptional” role on the world stage. Turning inward, he said, “would create a vacuum of leadership that no other nation is ready to fill.”

Mr. Obama embraced a diplomatic opening to Iran, saying he had instructed Secretary of State John Kerry to begin high-level negotiations on its nuclear program. He called on the Security Council to pass a resolution that would impose consequences on Syria if it failed to turn over its chemicals weapons.

And he delivered a pitch for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, talks that have restarted at the prodding of Mr. Kerry.

Hours later, Iran’s newly elected president, Hassan Rouhani, echoed the call for diplomacy, telling the General Assembly that “we can arrive at a framework to manage our differences.” But Mr. Rouhani said Iran would insist on its right to enrich uranium, and he warned Mr. Obama to resist influence from “warmongering pressure groups.”

Mr. Rouhani, who had mounted an aggressive charm offensive in the weeks before arriving in New York, also declined a chance to shake hands with Mr. Obama — avoiding a much-anticipated encounter that would have bridged more than three decades of estrangement between the leaders of Iran and the United States.

In their speeches, both leaders balanced their ideals as statesmen with their imperatives as politicians. But for Mr. Rouhani, a handshake may have proved too provocative for hard-line constituencies back home. At the end of a day of drama and dashed expectations at the United Nations, the spotlight swung back to the grinding work of diplomacy that awaits both nations.

In the morning, it was a somewhat diminished American leader who faced a skeptical audience of world leaders here. After first threatening, then backing off, a military strike against Syria, and now suddenly confronting a diplomatic opening with Iran, Mr. Obama has employed a foreign policy that has at times seemed improvisational and, in the view of many critics, irresolute.

The president acknowledged as much, saying his zigzag course on military strikes had unnerved some allies and vindicated the cynicism of many in the Middle East about American motives in the region. But he said the bigger threat would be if America withdrew altogether.

“The danger for the world is that the United States, after a decade of war, rightly concerned about issues back home, and aware of the hostility that our engagement in the region has engendered throughout the Muslim world, may disengage,” Mr. Obama said. “I believe that would be a mistake.”

Despite a war-weary public and its declining reliance on Middle Eastern oil, the United States would continue to be an active player in the region, Mr. Obama insisted, defending its interests; advocating for democratic principles; working to resolve sectarian conflicts in countries like Iraq, Syria and Bahrain; and, if necessary, intervening militarily with other countries to head off humanitarian tragedies.

“We will be engaged in the region for the long haul,” Mr. Obama said in the 40-minute address. “For the hard work of forging freedom and democracy is the task of a generation.”

For a president who has sought to refocus American foreign policy on Asia, it was a significant concession that the Middle East is likely to remain a major preoccupation for the rest of his term, if not that of his successor. Mr. Obama mentioned Asia only once, as an exemplar of the kind of economic development that has eluded the Arab world.

Much of Mr. Obama’s focus was on the sudden, even disorienting flurry of diplomatic developments that began after he pulled back from the brink of ordering a strike on Syria last month. He said Iran’s overtures could provide a foundation for an agreement on its nuclear program, but he warned that “conciliatory words will have to be matched by actions that are transparent and verifiable.”

Referring to the moderate statements of Mr. Rouhani, and an exchange of letters with him, Mr. Obama sounded a cautiously optimistic tone about diplomacy. “The roadblocks may prove to be too great,” he added, “but I firmly believe the diplomatic path must be tested.”

Similarly, Mr. Obama pushed negotiations at the Security Council on a Russian plan to transfer and eventually destroy President Bashar al-Assad’s chemical weapons. But he faulted Russian and Iran for their support of Mr. Assad, saying it would further radicalize Syria. And he claimed it was only the American threat of military action against Syria that had set in motion these diplomatic efforts.

“Without a credible military threat, the Security Council had demonstrated no inclination to act at all,” the president said. “If we cannot agree even on this, then it will show that the U.N. is incapable of enforcing the most basic of international laws.”

The president spoke immediately after Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, delivered a blistering denunciation of the United States over reports that the National Security Agency monitored e-mails, text messages and other electronic communications between Ms. Rousseff and her aides. Last week, Ms. Rousseff canceled a state visit to Washington to signal her displeasure with the N.S.A. surveillance, the most significant diplomatic fallout from revelations that have also strained relations with other allies, like Mexico and Germany.

Mr. Obama took note of these grievances, saying the United States was rethinking its surveillance activities as part of a broader recalculation that included restricting the use of drones, and transferring prisoners out of the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and ultimately shutting it down. His words echoed a speech he delivered last spring on the need for the United States to get off “perpetual war footing.”

“Just as we reviewed how we deploy our extraordinary military capabilities in a way that lives up to our ideals,” the president said, “we have begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so as to properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies, with the privacy concerns that all people share.”

Mr. Obama reaffirmed his support for another perennial American project: bringing Israelis and Palestinians together. With talks starting again between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and the Palestinian Authority leader, Mahmoud Abbas, Mr. Obama appealed for support.

“The time is now ripe for the entire international community to get behind the pursuit of peace,” he said. “Already, Israeli and Palestinian leaders have demonstrated a willingness to take significant political risks.”

Mr. Obama also sent a warning to Egypt’s military-backed government that it would lose American support if it continued to crack down on civil society. His message was viewed positively by the Egyptian state news media, despite the criticism, because they claimed he credited the government with taking steps toward democracy.

“We will continue support in areas like education that benefit the Egyptian people,” he said. “But we have not proceeded with the delivery of certain military systems, and our support will depend upon Egypt’s progress in pursuing a democratic path.”

For all his caveats, Mr. Obama left no doubt that the United States would use its political, economic and, if necessary, military power in the Middle East. Acknowledging that his position on Syria had prompted uneasiness in the region, he insisted that the United States would still act to protect its interests.

The president also issued a fervent call for countries to intervene when necessary — as the United States did in Libya, but conspicuously did not do in Syria.

“Sovereignty cannot be a shield for tyrants to commit wanton murder, or an excuse for the international community to turn a blind eye to slaughter,” he said.

House passes spending bill that defunds Obamacare

The stopgap spending bill includes a provision to defund President Obama's health care law.

WASHINGTON — The House voted 230-189 along party lines Friday to approve a stopgap spending bill to fund the federal government through mid-December, but it is facing certain defeat in the Senate because it includes language aiming to dismantle President Obama's health care law.

Just one Republican, Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., voted against it and two conservative Democrats, Reps. Jim Matheson of Utah and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina voted in favor.

Without a stopgap spending bill, the federal government will feel the effects of a shutdown when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. The bill extends the current rate of government spending at $986 billion a year.

House Republicans attached a provision to defund the Affordable Care Act, a consistent target of congressional Republicans. However, the provision has no chance of approval in the Democratic-controlled Senate and it faces a veto threat from Obama.

Next week, the Senate is expected to begin debate on the spending bill, where Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will strip out the health care language and send a bill back to the House that simply extends current spending.

If the Senate runs out the clock on the time for debate, the vote could come as late as next weekend, giving House GOP leaders less than 48 hours to respond.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has not committed to allowing a vote on a spending bill that does not address the health care law. House Republicans will then have three options: reject it, pass it or amend it and send it back to the Senate again.

The effects of a shutdown would not be immediately felt by most Americans. Essential government programs such as air traffic control, Social Security, Medicare and mail delivery would all continue, but national parks and museums would be closed, and agency operations would slow down or stop. The White House and the U.S. Congress would continue to operate as well.

But the political risks are great. The last time the government shut down was during the Clinton administration in a budget battle against Republicans led by then-speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., which resulted in a public backlash against the GOP.

Boehner has said Republicans are not seeking a government shutdown, but eye it as an opportunity to start a broader offensive against the health care law. Republicans are also seeking to delay the implementation of the law for one year in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, the nation's borrowing limit.

Emboldened House GOP Presses Fight on 'Obamacare'

Emboldened conservatives who forced House Republican leaders to push a stopgap spending bill that unravels President Barack Obama's health care law are digging in for a long fight, determined to stop "Obamacare" before the first individual signs up in less than two weeks.

Just ask the two lawmakers — one a first-term businessman from North Carolina, the other a self-described "North Georgia country boy" elected just months after Obama signed the law — who spurred the rank and file to pressure the leadership on the tea party's signature issue.

"Our resolve on this is unrelenting," said Rep. Mark Meadows, whose letter in July to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., called for collaboration to "defund one of the largest grievances in our time" and attracted 79 Republicans.

Lobbied hard by outside conservative groups such as the Club for Growth, the Madison Project and the Senate Conservatives Fund, Republicans turned the letter into legislation sponsored by third-term Rep. Tom Graves, a 43-year-old from Ranger, Ga., who lists his high school loves as football, algebra and his Mohawk haircut.

More than 140 Republicans signed on to the bill to keep the government running and delay the health care law. On Wednesday, the House leadership signaled it had acquiesced to rank-and-file demands and set a vote for Friday on legislation to fund the government through Dec. 15 at existing levels while permanently defunding the health care law.

Meadows, Graves and other conservatives declined to discuss the likelihood that the Democratic-led Senate would reject their bill and dismissed talk that their actions would cause a politically debilitating government shutdown similar to the House Republican standoff with Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1995-96.

"This is not 1995. This is very different today," Graves told reporters. "I suggest you interview the folks who come to our town halls and you see the hurt and the pain and the concern in their eyes. You'll understand why we have the resolve and the constitution here to stand up for them."

Republicans insist this is their last, best chance to stop the law. Although some provisions are fairly well-established, such as children remaining on their parents' insurance plans until age 26, a crucial change goes into effect Oct. 1. That's when millions of people without access to job-based health care will be able to enroll online through new state insurance markets for coverage effective at the start of next year.

"Sept. 30 is a critical day," Meadows, 54, who traded a sandwich shop for real estate development, said in an interview. "All of us are united in understanding that once you start enrollment, it becomes a totally different dynamic even though they're not receiving benefits. When somebody enrolls in something, they assume they will be getting them. That's why the American people are expecting us to fight now, not delay the fight until next year some time."

Republicans also contend that Senate Democrats from Republican-leaning states who voted for the law will switch sides as they look ahead to tough re-election bids next year. Politically, flip-flopping on such a high-profile vote could be devastating for an incumbent. Still, Republicans are looking forward to making several Democrats — Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mark Begich of Alaska, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina — vote again with Obama on a law that opinion polls show remains confusing and unpopular.

Yet even proponents in the Senate acknowledge that their chances of defunding Obamacare are slim.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a chief sponsor in the Senate, acknowledged that Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., likely has the votes to remove the provision defunding the health care law and send back to the House a bill to keep the government operating.

Cruz said in a statement that House Republicans then must stand firm.

But other Republican senators dismiss the tactic as time-consuming and unrealistic. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

"It's a political ploy," said Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who says he opposes stopgap spending bills in general. "Tell me a bill that the president's going to sign and figure out how we get there, and then I'll support that."

House Republicans refused to discuss hypotheticals about what the Senate might do to their bill. They insist that their approach gives the House leverage.

"You play offense," said Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y. "We send them a solid plan that America is behind, then it's up to the Senate and it's up to the president to decide whether our plan makes sense or whether they want to draw a line in the sand and shut the government down."

Obama: Debt ceiling is not a 'bargaining chip'

Failure to increase the debt ceiling could lead to a government shutdown, Obama warns.

President Obama said Wednesday that he will not allow the debt ceiling to become "a bargaining chip to set policy," calling the tactic "irresponsible" politics.

"It would fundamentally change how American government functions," Obama told the Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs.

As the White House and Congress gear up for new budget battles, Obama said congressional Republicans are trying to use the debt ceiling to "extort" harmful budgets from his administration.

Obama asked the business people to "flip the script," and imagine the political reaction if a Democratic House speaker told a Republican president: We won't raise the debt ceiling unless you raise corporate taxes by 20%.

"That can't be a recipe for government," Obama said.

The debt ceiling gives the government the authority to borrow money to pay bills it has already racked up; failure to increase it could lead to a government shutdown, Obama told his business audience.

The Treasury Department reports that it expects to exceed the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling in mid- to late October.

Congressional Republicans said Obama can solve the budget and debt ceiling impasses by agreeing to less federal spending.

"No one is threatening to default," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "The president only uses these scare tactics to avoid having to show the courage needed to deal with our debt crisis. Every major deficit deal in the last 30 years has been tied to a debt limit increase, and this time should be no different."

Buck also pointed out that, as a U.S. senator, Obama once voted against a debt ceiling hike.

Obama's speech was the latest in a series of economic events conducted by the president. He is using them to promote programs he has put in place since the 2008 financial crisis, and to make his arguments in the renewed budget battles with congressional Republicans.

In 2011, Obama told the Business Roundtable that just the prospect of a debt ceiling breach and default led to a lower stock market and a downgrade in the nation's credit.

Obama made a brief speech to the business leaders just before a question-and-answer session that was closed to the press.

The White House and Congress are also at a budget impasse that could lead to a government shutdown.

The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, and the White House and Congress must agree to a new spending plan or face a shutdown.