Obama: Government Shutdown Would Be 'Height Of Irresponsibility,' It's 'Entirely Preventable'

President Barack Obama spoke from the White House Monday on the looming government shutdown.

"If the Congress does not fulfill its responsibility to pass a budget today, most of the government will shut down tomorrow," Obama said.

Obama gave a rundown of how a government shutdown would affect Americans. He noted that "NASA will shut down almost entirely" though Mission Control will remain active; national parks and monuments will close; and veterans will find support centers unstaffed.

"A shutdown will have a very real economic impact on a lot of people right away," Obama said.

"The idea of putting people's hard-earned progress at risk is the height of irresponsibility, and it does not have to happen," Obama said.

Obama said a shutdown "is entirely preventable" if the House acts as the Senate already has. Obama also directly addressed those who think using Obamacare as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations will keep the health care law from being implemented.

"You can't shut it down," Obama said of the health care law.

"Does anybody truly believe that we won't have this fight again in a couple more months?" Obama asked.

Obama called keeping the government open a "basic responsibility" and said preventing a shutdown wouldn't be seen as a point of weakness.

"Keeping the government open is not a concession to me," Obama said.

Below, the latest updates on the shutdown showdown: