Congress lays groundwork for blame over Obamacare and possible shutdown

Members of Congress sparred Sunday over who would be responsible for a potential government shutdown if Capitol Hill cannot strike a deal that funds the government while either implementing or delaying the new health care law.

Rep. Tom Price, Georgia Republican, said the White House has modified or delayed provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Notably, it put off for one year, to 2015, the employer mandate that requires employers with 50 or more full-time employees to provide health coverage or pay fines.

“We believe it’s only fair for the American people now to have that same delay,” Mr. Price told “Fox News Sunday,” referring to the individual mandate requiring most Americans to hold some form of health insurance starting in 2014.

House GOP leadership has not said how it will handle demands from the chamber’s conservative wing, which says any spending deal cannot include a penny for Obamacare.

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