The House speaker lays out his terms in a speech to New York executives
At a speech on Monday night at New York's Economic Club, House Speaker John Boehner will make clear what's necessary to raise the government's borrowing limit, a pressing concern on the minds of the many financiers who will be in the room: Spending cuts equal to the size of the debt-limit increase.
Boehner's speech comes as Washington grapples with the urgent need to raise the government's borrowing limit, which will be reached on May 16. When the limit is reached, Treasury officials estimate they can avoid a default on government bonds through early August, but a failure to increase the limit by then--or even the perception that such a failure could occur--will send shock waves through the financial market and negatively impact the economy.
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"It's true that allowing America to default would be irresponsible," Boehner says in remarks prepared for delivery. "But it would be more irresponsible to raise the debt ceiling without simultaneously taking dramatic steps to reduce spending and reform the budget process."