Obama pushes lawmakers to reach budget deal

WASHINGTON — President Obama pressed House and Senate leaders Saturday to agree to a budget in time to avert what he says would be an economically harmful government shutdown, but restated his opposition to certain spending cuts and other provisions insisted upon by Republicans.

Obama delivered the message in separate telephone conversations with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., the White House said.

Negotiations continued Saturday on a bill to fund government operations through Sept. 30, the end of the budget year. They have zeroed in on cuts in the $33 billion range, but haven't agreed on where to make them.

Complicating matters from the White House view are nonspending provisions that Republicans want to put in the budget to block the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing regulations on various industries and ban funding for Planned Parenthood.

Obama told the leaders that he opposes using the budget process to "further an ideological agenda" by pursuing issues that aren't related to reducing spending or the deficit, the White House said.

He said shutting the government would hurt the economy just as it's beginning to create jobs.

On Friday, the government reported that the unemployment rate had fallen to a two-year low of 8.8 percent in March and that the economy added 216,000 jobs last month.

After keeping a low profile and delegating the negotiating to Vice President Joseph Biden, his budget director and other White House aides, Obama has begun to press publicly for a deal as this latest deadline nears.