Obama During Shutdown: I Will Not Pay a ‘Ransom’ To Alter ‘Settled Law’

Speaking in his October 5, 2013 weekly radio address, President Obama said: "Stop this farce. End this shutdown now. The American people don’t get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their job. Neither does Congress. They don’t get to hold our democracy or our economy hostage over a settled law. They don’t get to kick a child out of Head Start if I don’t agree to take her parents’ health insurance away. That’s not how our democracy is supposed to work. That's why I won't pay a ransom in exchange for reopening the government."