FAIRLESS HILLS, President Barack Obama warned Americans Wednesday that a government shutdown would have serious economic repercussions, urging Congress to behave like "adults" and make a budget deal.
After the White House said around 800,000 federal employees would be told not to go work and military personnel would miss paychecks, the president explained some of the direct consequences for Americans.
"When 90the government shuts down that small business owner who is waiting to get a loan, suddenly nobody's there to process it, he may not get that loan and that business may not open, and whoever he was planning to hire suddenly he may not have that job that he was counting on," Obama said.
"It may turn out that somebody who was trying to get a mortgage can't have their paperwork processed... and now the person who was going to sell the house, what they were counting on, they can't get it."
US lawmakers and the White House are racing to make a midnight Friday deadline to have an agreement on legislation funding government operations through October 1, failing which key federal agencies will shut down.
"I do not want to see Washington politics stand in the way of America's progress," Obama said.
"At a time when you're struggling to pay your bills and meet your responsibilities, the least we can do is meet our responsibilities to produce a budget.
"That's not too much to ask for. That's what the American people expect of us. That's what they deserve. You want everybody to act like adults, quit playing games, realize it is not just my way or the highway."
There could also be disappointment ahead for holidaymakers, the president warned.
"Folks who were planning a vacation to Yellowstone, well, turns out the national parks suddenly, they're closed, you're out of luck. You may have to try to figure out if you can get your money back for that resort you were going to stay at."
Obama alluded to a recent jobs report that raised hopes for the glacial US economic recovery and warned the shutdown could have a seriously detrimental impact.
"These are things that affect ordinary family’s day in, day out, and it affects our economy right at the time when our economy is getting momentum," he said.
"Companies don't like uncertainty. If they start seeing that suddenly we may have a shutdown of our government that could halt momentum right when we need to built it up, all because of politics."
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