House Speaker John Boehner has said he has no idea when the government shutdown will end – placing the impetus for forging a compromise squarely on the shoulder of President Barack Obama.
The Republican leader also seemed to backtrack on promises that he wouldn’t let the nation default on its debts by saying that he would not raise the debt ceiling unless he gets concessions from Obama and Democrats in Congress. In an interview Sunday on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ Boehner seemed to double-down on the refusal of House Republicans to fund the government unless the rollout of ObamaCare is delayed for at least one year.
The Speaker of the U.S. House said the President must negotiate with his party before he will allow any bill to fund the government or raise the debt ceiling to come to a vote. ‘The nation’s credit is at risk because of the administration’s refusal to sit down and have a conversation,’ he said. ‘The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit. And the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us.
‘We’re not going down that path. It is time to deal with America’s problems. How can you raise the debt limit and do nothing about the underlying problem? ‘ He added that, despite reports that he was dragged into the ObamaCare fight by the Tea Party wing of his caucus, he had always wanted to use the debt ceiling and government funding deadlines as a way to force the Obama Administration to negotiate over the health care law and government spending.
He also lauded House Republicans for taking the bold move of refusing to fun the government without winning concessions. ‘You’ve never seen a more dedicated group of people who are thoroughly concerned about the future of our country. It is time for us to stand and fight,’ he said. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has estimated that the country will hit its borrowing limit on October 17 – giving Congress and the Obama Administration just 11 more days to hammer out a deal before the government runs out of money to pay for its debts.
Lew told CNN that Republicans are risking financial ruin if they don’t vote to raise the debt ceiling. ‘I’m telling you that on the 17th, we run out of our ability to borrow, and Congress is playing with fire. ‘If they don’t extend the debt limit, we have a very, very short window of time before those scenarios start to be played out.’ – Dailymail
