Biden slams Republicans for budget impasse

WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden has blamed "a small group of extreme Republicans" for a budget impasse that has placed the US government a week away from a shutdown, and he urged the lawmakers to resolve the issue.

Speaking at a Congressional Black Caucus awards dinner on Saturday, Biden said he and the House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had previously agreed on government spending levels.

"Now a small group of extreme Republicans don't want to live up to the deal, so now everyone in America could be forced to pay the price," he said.

US lawmakers have until midnight on Sept 30 to reach an agreement on a spending bill, before funding for government services dries up.

A government shutdown would put the finances of hundreds of thousands of workers at federal parks, museums and other sites at risk, but it could also carry significant political costs for Biden, who casts next year's presidential campaign against the likely Republican challenger, former president Donald Trump, as a battle against political extremism.

"I wish I could say our threat to democracy ended with our victory in 2020 but it didn't," Biden said. "Our democracy is still at stake. Don't kid yourself."

The budget vote in Congress regularly turns into a standoff between the two parties, with each camp using the prospect of a shutdown to obtain concessions from the other — until a solution is found at the last minute.

Agencies via Xinhua