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| Debt ceiling debate: Obama to stake out position | Debt ceiling debate: Obama to stake out position |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has staked out his position in a debate over the government's authority to borrow money, which could expire next month. | |
| In the last White House news conference of his first term, the Democratic president also took questions on gun control. | |
| On the debt ceiling, House Republicans have threatened not to allow its rise, in a bid to extract spending cuts. | On the debt ceiling, House Republicans have threatened not to allow its rise, in a bid to extract spending cuts. |
| But Mr Obama has vowed not to negotiate over the limit. | But Mr Obama has vowed not to negotiate over the limit. |
| Monday's press conference came a week before the inauguration ceremony in Washington DC that will begin Mr Obama's second term. | |
| 'Absurd' | |
| Mr Obama said that another standoff over the debt ceiling would be "absurd" and "a self-inflicted wound on our economy", as he warned Republicans not to act "irresponsibly". | |
| "America cannot afford another debate with this Congress about whether or not we should pay the bills we've already racked up," he said. | |
| "We are not a deadbeat nation," Mr Obama said. | |
| "You don't go out to dinner and eat all you want and then leave without paying the cheque," he added. "That's breaking the law." | |
| Speaking on a day that marked a month on from a massacre at a primary school in Connecticut, Mr Obama also said he would present proposals for gun control later in the week. | |
| He said stronger background checks, control of high capacity magazine clips, and an assault weapons ban were all measures he believed made sense. | |
| "Will all of them get through this Congress?" he asked. "I don't know." | |
| Ahead of the debt ceiling fight, the White House in recent days has stated it will forgo two extraordinary measures suggested by the president's allies and by left-leaning pundits. | |
| The White House will not order the treasury to mint a $1tn (£623bn) platinum coin - an accounting measure that would allow spending to continue. | The White House will not order the treasury to mint a $1tn (£623bn) platinum coin - an accounting measure that would allow spending to continue. |
| Nor will Mr Obama invoke a clause in the 14th amendment to the US constitution declaring that "the validity of the public debt of the United States... shall not be questioned". | Nor will Mr Obama invoke a clause in the 14th amendment to the US constitution declaring that "the validity of the public debt of the United States... shall not be questioned". |
| White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Saturday: "There are only two options to deal with the debt limit: Congress can pay its bills or they can fail to act and put the nation into default. | White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Saturday: "There are only two options to deal with the debt limit: Congress can pay its bills or they can fail to act and put the nation into default. |
| "Congress needs to do its job." | "Congress needs to do its job." |
| The last debt ceiling battle between Congress and Mr Obama ended in July 2011. The ceiling was raised $2.4tn in exchange for automatic across-the-board spending cuts scheduled for 1 January 2013. | The last debt ceiling battle between Congress and Mr Obama ended in July 2011. The ceiling was raised $2.4tn in exchange for automatic across-the-board spending cuts scheduled for 1 January 2013. |
| Mr Obama had previously said he wanted a permanent extension of the debt limit as part of a deal to avoid those spending cuts which, combined with a package of tax rises, was known as the fiscal cliff. | Mr Obama had previously said he wanted a permanent extension of the debt limit as part of a deal to avoid those spending cuts which, combined with a package of tax rises, was known as the fiscal cliff. |
| A last-minute deal in Congress avoided most of those tax rises and deferred the spending cuts by two months, but the debt ceiling limit was not part of the negotiations. | A last-minute deal in Congress avoided most of those tax rises and deferred the spending cuts by two months, but the debt ceiling limit was not part of the negotiations. |
| BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders says that while there is little risk of an actual default on US debt, if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling the country will no longer have the ability to pay all its bills. | BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders says that while there is little risk of an actual default on US debt, if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling the country will no longer have the ability to pay all its bills. |
| In preparation for the debt ceiling fight, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has already cut payments into the pension and disability fund for government workers and to the health benefits fund of postal retirees. | In preparation for the debt ceiling fight, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has already cut payments into the pension and disability fund for government workers and to the health benefits fund of postal retirees. |
| The debt ceiling is currently $16.4tn, meaning in essence that the US cannot borrow more money than that to pay its bills. | The debt ceiling is currently $16.4tn, meaning in essence that the US cannot borrow more money than that to pay its bills. |
| The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates Mr Geithner's "extraordinary measures" will be exhausted between 15 February and 1 March. | The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates Mr Geithner's "extraordinary measures" will be exhausted between 15 February and 1 March. |