WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama raised the stakes Monday in talks aimed at preventing an unprecedented U.S. default, saying there would be no agreement if Republicans did not compromise and that he would not sign a short-term agreement.
"I don't see a path to a deal if they don't budge. Period," the president said in a challenge to his political opponents, accusing Republicans of having a take it or leave it posture.
Asked whether or not he would veto legislation to increase the debt ceiling temporarily, the president said: "I will not sign a 30-day, or 60-day, or 90-day extension." The White House later confirmed that Obama meant he would veto such a bill.
"This is the United States of America. And, you know, we don't manage our affairs in three-month increments," the president said.
Even before Obama was finished speaking, Republicans were disagreeing with his insistence that a deficit-trimming deal include cutbacks in tax breaks for the wealthy and some big corporations. While the news conference was under way, the office of House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in the House of Representatives, sent two emails to his news list saying tax hikes never should have been in the discussion.
At issue in the volatile debate is the strength of the U.S. economy and the political fortunes of Obama himself, as well as lawmakers, heading into next year's elections. The administration warns of catastrophic economic results that would reverberate around the globe in addition to threatening the fragile recovery at home if the debt limit is not raised by Aug. 2, throwing the government into default for the first time.
The president warned that failure to reach agreement could create another recession and throw millions of Americans out of work, painting a picture of catastrophe if a partisan stalemate is not broken and Congress fails to act. He criticized politicians who say the debt ceiling does not need to be raised.
The president spoke at a White House news conference the morning after convening a rare Sunday meeting with lawmakers in the White House Cabinet Room, where he continued to push for a "grand bargain" in the range of $4 trillion worth of deficit cuts over the coming decade. That ran into Republicans' refusal to raise taxes.
Obama conceded that Boehner, who pulled his support for a large-scale deal over the weekend, faced a potential revolt by his members and suggested Republicans should take a political risk, as the president said he is doing.
"I am prepared to take on significant heat from my party to get something done," Obama said, contending he has "bent over backward" to work with Republicans.