READ: Speaker John Boehner Calls on Senate to Pass a Budget Before House Raises Debt Ceiling
Below are excerpts of House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) closing remarks at the House Republican members retreat today in Williamsburg, Virginia. Boehner is calling on Senate Democrats to pass a budget, with spending cuts, before the House takes long-term action on raising the debt ceiling.
"Before there is any long-term debt limit increase, a budget should be passed that cuts spending. The Democratic-controlled Senate has failed to pass a budget for four years. That is a shameful run that needs to end, this year.
We are going to pursue strategies that will obligate the Senate to finally join the House in
confronting the government’s spending problem. The principle is simple: no budget, no pay. ...
A long-term increase in the debt limit that is not preceded by meaningful and responsible reductions in government spending might avert a default, but it would also invite a downgrade of our nation’s credit that damages our economy, hurts families and small businesses, and destroys jobs."
