President Barack Obama demanded on Monday that lawmakers raise the nation's $16.4 trillion federal debt limit quickly, warning that "Social Security benefits and veterans' checks will be delayed" if they don't and cautioning Republicans not to insist on cuts to government spending in exchange.
"They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the economy," he said at the 21st and final news conference of his first term. "The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip. And they better decide quickly because time is running short."
Answering questions for about an hour, the risk of a default once the debt ceiling is reached dominated the news conference.
"We are not a deadbeat nation," he declared, less than a week away from taking the oath of office for a second term.
Within minutes, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the president and his allies in Congress need to get serious about spending, and the debt-limit debate is the perfect time for it.
Sen. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, said in a statement that any proposal to increase the debt ceiling must include spending cuts ? ?the driver of our debt.?
?The state of our fiscal crisis is dire as the national debt has become a real obstacle to future economic growth and job creation,? Upton said. ?Every day, Michigan families and small businesses must make tough decisions to balance their checkbooks, pay the bills, and make ends meet, and they expect the same out of their government.?
House Speaker John Boehner said in a statement, "The House will do its job and pass responsible legislation that controls spending, meets our nation's obligations and keeps the government running, and we will insist that the Democratic majority in Washington do the same."
Obama made his remarks as a new Congress was settling in for its own new term, Republicans in control of the House and Democrats in the Senate.
Lawmakers face three distinct deadlines before April 1. The debt limit must be raised to prevent a default, a series of across-the-board spending cuts is to kick in on March 1, and funding for most government programs will run out on March 27.
Obama virtually dared Republicans to let the government shut down rather than renew funding beyond March 27. "It will hurt the economy," he said emphatically.
The president opened his news conference with a statement by saying that a vote to increase the debt limit "does not authorize more spending. It simply allows the country to pay for spending that Congress has already agreed to. These are bills we've already racked up and we need to pay them."
Jabbing at Republicans, he quoted House Speaker John Boehner's remarks of two years ago that allowing a default on U.S. obligations ? the practical effect of failing to raise the debt limit ? would be a disaster.
Obama said he was willing to consider future deficit cuts, but only if they are done independently from a vote to raise the $16.4 trillion debt limit.
Failure to raise the debt limit would put the United States into a first-ever default, a step that Obama said could "blow up the economy."
Congressional Democrats have recently urged the president to lift the debt limit unilaterally. He said ? as he has before ? that he won't do it, that Congress had voted for the spending that resulted in federal borrowing, and should now agree to pay the bill.
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Source: http://www.hollandsentinel.com/homepage/x1665861909/Obama-demands-quick-action-on-debt-ceiling
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