House Speaker John Boehner
(R-OH) raised the idea of taking the country into default if Republicans don’t
get more spending cuts during a press conference on Friday.
On October 17, the nation
hits its credit limit, and must extend the so-called “debt limit” in order to
pay outstanding bills that the United States owes. If the debt ceiling isn’t
raised, it would be calamitous for the nation’s economy.
It’s long been suspected
that House Republicans would wrap the debt ceiling into the shutdown fight, but
on Friday, Boehner made it official.
“I don’t believe that we
should default on our debt,” Boehner said. “It’s not good for our country. But
after 55 years of spending more than what you bring in, something ought to be
addressed.”
“I think the American
people expect if we’re going to raise the amount of money we can borrow,” he
went on, “we ought to do something about our spending problem and the lack of
economic growth in our country.”
Boehner has previously pledged not to use the debt limit as political leverage. And while he may
insist on spending cuts, the funding bill that Republicans are currently
blocking actually includes the massive across-the-board spending cuts known as
sequestration.
On Thursday, the Treasury
Department released a report warning that hitting the debt ceiling would create “a recession more
severe than any seen since the Great Depression.” Since the nation would
default on its debt, it could affect the economic growth and borrowing power of
the country for decades to come.
Still House Republicans
have written off the effects of surpassing the debt limit, believing — against the advice of
experts — that the nation would be able to prioritize payments and avoid pure
default.
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