WASHINGTON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama would veto any "piecemeal" legislation that would restore funding only to certain parts of the government like national parks, veterans programs and the District of Columbia rather than a broad federal spending bill, the White House said on Tuesday.
"These piecemeal efforts are not serious, and they are no way to run a government," spokeswoman Amy Brundage said in a statement, noting that the White House wants the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to pass a bill that would continue funding the federal government without any unrelated policy measures attached.
"The president and the Senate have been clear that they won't accept this kind of game-playing, and if these bills were to come to the president's desk, he would veto them," she said.
Congress failed to agree on spending for the fiscal year that began on Tuesday, leading to a government shutdown.
Obama did sign a bill on Monday evening to ensure that the military would be paid during the shutdown.
A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, called the White House position "unsustainably hypocritical."
"How does the White House justify signing the troop funding bill, but vetoing similar measures for veterans, National Parks, and (the) District of Columbia?" said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Boehner.