President Obama continued to sell his debt reduction plan, this time by warning Republicans he would not hold the debt ceiling hostage to future negotiations.


Beyond tax hikes and budget cuts, President Obama and the Republicans added another element Wednesday to the "fiscal cliff" standoff: the debt ceiling.

Obama, in a speech to business executives, warned Republicans not to let budget disputes affect the raising of the debt ceiling next year.


Obama was responding to reports that congressional Republicans might be willing to approve extensions of middle-class tax cuts now, then use a debt-ceiling increase to leverage more spending cuts and other concessions from the administration.

The nation does not need a rerun of the 2011 debt-ceiling dispute, Obama said, calling that incident a "catastrophe" that threatened a government default and led to a downgrade in the nation's credit rating.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said:"We agree there is no reason for drama surrounding a debt-limit increase. All that is required is the president getting serious about spending cuts."

Obama's debt-ceiling comments highlighted remarks in which he basically asked the CEOs to help him raise their taxes.




Obama devoted most of his remarks to summarizing the state of negotiations with Republicans ​​in an effort to avoid the fiscal cliff, the series of tax increases and budget cuts that take effect in 2013 without a debt-reduction agreement.


The Republicans flagged an Obama quote from 2011 in which the president said the government could raise as much as $1.2 trillion in new revenue over 10 years without rate hikes, but by "eliminating loopholes, eliminating some deductions and engaging in a tax reform process that could have lowered rates generally while broadening the base."




Republicans also called on Obama to sit down with them on these issues. "We can't negotiate with ourselves," Boehner said.

When or if that negotiation includes the debt ceiling remains to be seen.

The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money the government can borrow to pay the debts it has incurred. The debt ceiling is nearly $16.4 trillion. At the current rate of government spending, it will need to be raised early next year.


The White House calls it the "McConnell provision," after its creator, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.




Read or Share this story: