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This week, President Barack Obama (pictured) explained that while he is willing to negotiate with Republicans on any hot-button issues and priorities, he is not going to allow them to threaten the American economy just to undermine the Affordable Care Act, which launched last Tuesday. Below, you can watch the President’s speech, explaining the shutdown and clarifying Congress’ primary responsibilities irrespective of whether they agree with Obamacare or not.

RELATED: America Continues To Blame GOP For Government Shutdown

The President has remained firm on his stance that while he is open to compromise and negotiation, he will not be bullied by a seemingly bitter Congress that his holding both America — and the world — “hostage”:

If you’re in negotiations around buying somebody’s house, you don’t get to say, ‘Well, let’s talk about the price I’m going to pay, and if you don’t give the price then I’m going to burn down your house.’ That’s not how negotiations work…. In the same way, members of Congress — and the House Republicans in particular — don’t get to demand ransom in exchange for doing their jobs. And two of their very basic jobs are passing a budget and making sure that America is paying its bills.”

Watch the President discuss the government shutdown here:

On Day 9 of the government shutdown, House Republicans seem to be signaling that they are ready to end the shutdown. Time will tell if they indeed do.

RELATED: Republicans Hint They May Be Willing To Compromise For Default Crisis