President Obama rules out short term extension to America’s debt ceiling
AMERICAN President Barack Obama will refuse to sign a temporary extension of the US debt ceiling, he said yesterday, insisting that Republicans and Democrats must come to a long-term agreement this month.
“We should use this opportunity to do something meaningful on debt and deficits,” Obama said at a press conference in Washington DC. “We’re going to meet every single day until we get this thing resolved.” The President urged Republicans and Democrats to put politics to one side and concede ground over their demands.
“I’m prepared to take on significant heat from my party to get things done,” Obama said, also praising Republican leaders John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. “If they are sincere, which I believe they are, then they’ll have to compromise,” Obama said.
Boehner, current Speaker of the House of Representatives, admitted on Sunday that talks on a $4 trillion (£2.5 trillion) ten-year deficit reduction plan had broken down.
Republicans are holding out against tax hikes, while many Democrats are unhappy over cuts to entitlement programmes such as Medicaid and Medicare.