U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Friday said the House will not vote on a "clean" spending bill without conditions to end the government shutdown, and demanded spending cuts in exchange for raising the government's borrowing limit.
"I don't believe we should default on our debt," Boehner told reporters after meeting with his Republican caucus. But he added, "If we are going to raise the amount of money we can borrow, we ought to do something about our spending problem and lack of economic growth."
The government went into partial shutdown on Tuesday after lawmakers failed to settle a dispute in which Republicans are demanding the dismantling of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law in exchange for approving a deal.
On Oct. 17, the government is expected to hit the so-called debt ceiling, setting up another fiscal showdown with potentially more dire economic consequences.
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