Durbin says he's frustrated with federal budget troubles

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said Friday he's as frustrated as most Americans with the repeated "doomsday scenario" involving the federal budget.

Speaking in Chicago on the day that $85 billion in automatic spending cuts were to take effect, the Senate's No. 2 Democratic leader blamed some House Republicans who aren't willing to negotiate.

"You fix it with an election," Durbin said. "Unfortunately, at this point, there is control in the House of Representatives by a group that invites this. They like this approach. I think it's a mistake."

Durbin's remarks came at a press conference focusing on the impact of $1.6 billion in automatic spending cuts at the National Institute of Health, just one of the many agencies affected by the federal budget reduction. Illinois is the 10th largest recipient of NIH money and could lose roughly $38 million, Durbin said. The cuts could lead to the loss of 727 jobs, he said.

"We have lived the last two years and three months with this doomsday scenario recurring time after time: threatened government shutdowns, threatened economy shutdowns, threats on the fiscal cliff, threats on sequestration," Durbin said. "This is no way to run a government and it's no way to run a great nation."