WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama demanded on Monday that Congress quickly raise the federal debt limit and warned that he will not allow the Republican opposition to "collect a ransom for crashing the U.S. economy," setting out again a tough negotiating position on an issue that threatens to shut down the American government.
The president also said he will soon ask Congress to enact new gun legislation after the shootings a month ago that left 20 elementary students dead in Newtown, Connecticut. Facing stiff opposition from the National Rifle Association, he conceded lawmakers may not approve everything he wants.
On the debt ceiling, Obama said Republicans who want to dramatically cut spending in return for raising U.S. borrowing limits "will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the economy."
"The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip. And they better decide quickly because time is running short."
"We are not a deadbeat nation," he declared.
In the final news conference of his first term, the president said: "The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip. And they better decide quickly because time is running short."
He further said he was not willing to continue facing prolonged and bitter debates on the debt, a current reality that he says are hurting the U.S. recovery from the Great Recession.
"I don't think anybody would consider my position to be unreasonable here".
The president also said he will soon ask Congress to enact new gun legislation in the wake of the shootings a month ago that left 20 elementary students dead in Newtown, Connecticut. Facing stiff opposition from the National Rifle Association, he conceded lawmakers may not approve everything he asks for.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
