Obama Warns GOP On Debt Ceiling: We 'Cannot Afford That Dangerous Game Again'
"One thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they’ve already racked up," Obama said. If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic. The last time Congress threatened this course of action, our entire economy suffered for it. Our families and our businesses cannot afford that dangerous game again."
The raising of the debt ceiling is shaping up as another fight between Congressional Republicans and Obama after the deal to avert the fiscal cliff, which Obama hailed in his weekly address.
Republicans have already started to set up a potential debate over the lifting of the debt ceiling.
Obama and others have argued that using the debt ceiling as a negotiation tactic is unacceptable. After the last debt ceiling fight in the summer of 2011, the nation's credit rating was downgraded.
Obama wanted an increase in the debt ceiling to be part of a fiscal cliff deal. But even though he didn't get that, he has said he would not negotiate over what he called a "weapon ... destroying our own credit rating."
Watch Obama's full weekly address here: