Boehner says House would seek to avert shutdown

Speaker of the House John Boehner speaks to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington February 10, 2011.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner said on Tuesday that his chamber would be willing to pass a short-term, spending-cut bill to avoid a shutdown of the U.S. government.

In a statement, Boehner said if the Democratic-led Senate refuses to vote on the spending-cut bill passed by the House on Saturday, the Republican-controlled House "will pass a short-term bill to keep the government running -- one that also cuts spending."

The House-passed bill would fund the government through September 30, but with $61 billion in spending cuts that Democrats denounce as excessive.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Thomas Ferraro; editing by Doina Chiacu)