Harry Reid and John Boehner Spar as Budget Battle Continues

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate's top Democrat, Harry Reid, says House Speaker John Boehner (BAY'-nur) has a credibility problem.

In a statement, Reid calls on Boehner to allow a vote on a straightforward bill to re-open the government.

A Reid spokesman says Boehner is consistently saying things that "fly in the face of the facts or stand at odds with his past actions." The spokesman says Americans are suffering because Boehner won't "come to grips with reality."

A spokesman for Boehner responds that Senate Democrats should put aside what he says is their phony outrage. The spokesman says the government is shut down because "Democrats refuse to negotiate."

Boehner has insisted that President Barack Obama must negotiate if he wants to end the shutdown, which is now in its second week, and avoid a default that could bring about a new recession.

The House and Senate return to work today with no signs of progress toward ending the disputes over the shutdown and the debt limit.