House Speaker John Boehner stopped short today of saying majority Republicans will refuse to raise the debt limit and strongly urged President Obama and Democrats to work with them to cut spending.
Boehner suggested on Fox News Sunday there is no appetite to see the United States default on its loans if Congress doesn't pass an increase in the debt limit.
"I don't think it's even a question on the table," Boehner said in his first Sunday talk show interview since becoming speaker this month.
The Ohio lawmaker repeatedly said Republicans, who bounced Democrats from the House majority in the November elections, will push to cut federal spending to 2008 levels or lower before holding a separate vote on the debt limit.
"We want to reduce spending. Period," Boehner said, adding that President Obama has "got to be willing to cut up the credit cards."
The cuts, he suggested, would be based on the will of the House. "There is no limit to the amount of spending we will cut," he said.
The White House has said cutting the federal budget by 20%, as Republicans want, could lead to thousands of children being cut from the Head Start program and fewer FBI agents.
The federal government is operating on a budget resolution that expires March 4. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said the House will take up the issue of spending levels during the week of Feb. 14.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said the United States could hit its statutory debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion, set by Congress last year, by the end of March and no later than May 16.
Boehner told Fox host Chris Wallace that he'd be willing to play golf with Obama if it could help spark discussions on spending cuts and other issues. There's no question that Boehner, ranked by Golf Digest as one of the top duffers in Congress, might have the upper hand on the links.
"I'm sure I'll have to give him (Obama) strokes," the speaker joked.
By Catalina Camia, USA TODAY
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