WASHINGTON — House Speaker John Boehner chided President Obama after his nationally televised address to the nation, saying that, during debt negotiations, the president 'wanted a blank check . . . this is not going to happen.'
The Ohio Republican said during his prime-time response Monday night that he will continue to push for a short-term raise in the federal debt ceiling, despite Obama's assertion that he would not support such a deal.
Boehner said Obama wants to "conduct business as usual" in Washington, overspending beyond our means.
"The president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today . . . This is not going to happen."
Boehner said he hoped for a compromise.
"The solution to this crisis is not complicated . . . We are up to the task, and I hope President Obama will join us," Boehner said.
The speaker said that, in negotiations with Obama over a long-term debt deal, "I made a sincere effort to work with the president . . . I gave it my all. Unfortunately, the president could not take yes for an answer."
Boehner gave no indication of compromise. The House speaker did say the United States cannot default. He said the crisis would be over if the Senate approves a new House Republican plan to be voted on in the House this week, and if the president signs it.
Boehner, countering the president, said “there is no stalemate in Washington” because the House passed the Cut, Cap and bBlance bill.
“The House has passed a bill to raise the debt limit with bipartisan support,” Boehner said. “And this week, while the Senate is struggling to pass a bill filled with phony accounting and Washington gimmicks, we will pass another bill, one that was developed with the support of the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. Senate.”
Like Obama, Boehner stressed that he “made a sincere effort” to work with the president to compromise. “I’ll tell you,” Boehner said, “I gave it my all.”
But he knocked Obama and congressional Democrats for proposing “business as usual” after years of what he said was spending too much.
“Here was the president, asking for the largest debt increase in American history, on the heels of the largest spending binge in American history,” Boehner said. “This debate isn't about President Obama and House Republicans . . . It isn't about Congress and the White House . . . It's about what’s standing between the American people and the future we seek for ourselves and our families.”
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