Obama urges Republicans to stop 'grandstanding' on debt

U.S. President Barack Obama onFriday called on Republicans in the House of Representativesto stop"political grandstanding" and pass legislation to avoid alooming government shutdown without cuts to his health-care lawor other conditions.

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"Over the next three days, House Republicans will have todecide whether to join the Senate and keep the government openor shut it down because they can't get their way on an issuethat has nothing to do with deficit," Obama said in astatement to reporters at the White House.

"I realize that a lot of what's taking place right now ispolitical grandstanding, but this grandstanding has real effects on real people," Obama said.

The debt ceiling is the legal limit on how much debt a government is allowed to accumulate.Most countries let their debts rise automatically when government spending outpaces tax revenue.

U.S. presidents have a long history of seeking to raise the ceiling, andWashington faces a looming fiscal deadline.Oct.1 marks the start of a new budget year in the U.S. and requires Congress to pass a spending bill to allow agencies to stay open. Another deadline estimated at Oct. 17 will requireCongress to increase the government's $16.7-trillion debt ceiling to avoid a first-ever default on its payments.