In a speech given on Sunday, House Majority Speaker John Boehner showed no signs of conceding on the debt limit increase as the government shutdown looms on.
The New York Times quotes Boehner, “I’m not going to raise the debt limit without a serious conversation about dealing with problems that are driving the debt up. It would be irresponsible of me to do this.”
What began as a demand to defund Obamacare is now shifting as Republicans pursue a discussion on deficit-reduction with the White House. President Barack Obama has said he will not consider negotiating with Republicans as long as they continue using the government shutdown as a pawn.
Charles Schumer, Democrat Senator of New York, echoed the sentiment, “We are happy to negotiate, but we want to negotiate without a gun to our head.”
According to Bloomberg News , Schumer has also been pressuring Boehner to put a clean bill up for a vote. With only a 32 member lead in the house, Republicans cannot afford to lose more than 15 votes if they plan to extend the government shutdown.