Obama threatens veto of House GOP spending cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — Courting confrontation and compromise alike, House Republicans shrugged off President Barack Obama’s threat to veto legislation to cut federal spending by trillions of dollars today while simultaneously negotiating with him over more modest steps to avert a potential government default. The Republican bill demands deep spending reductions and congressional approval of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution in exchange for raising the nation’s debt limit. But Obama will veto it if it reaches his desk, the White House said, asserting the legislation would “lead to severe cuts in Medicare and Social Security” and impose unrealistic limits on education spending.