Obama Threatens to Shut Down Govt with Veto

NewsNM note (Spence) - Last week officials in the Obama administration said repeatedly that the failure to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit would be an unprecedented event that would lead to default and economic catastrophe. Yesterday the president threatened to veto a bill that would avert an economic catastrophe if it was less than 90 days. -
Washington Times - President Obama declared Monday he would veto a short-term extension of the nation’s debt limit as he tried again to pressure congressional Republican leaders to accept tax increases in a long-range plan to reduce deficits by $4 trillion over the next decade. “I will not sign a 30-day, or a 60-day, or a 90-day extension,” Mr. Obama said at a news conference in the White House press briefing room.

“That is just not an acceptable approach. This is the United States of America. We don’t manage our affairs in three-month increments.” As the deficit-reduction talks dragged on with little progress, some congressional leaders have suggested a short-term deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling of $14.29 trillion before the Aug. 2 deadline. But Mr. Obama said he is insisting on an agreement that will cover government borrowing beyond the November 2012 elections. “If we think it’s hard now, imagine how these guys are going to be thinking six months from now in the middle of election season,” Mr. Obama said of congressional lawmakers. “We might as well do it now. Pull off the Band-Aid. Eat our peas. If not now, when?” Read full story here: News New Mexico