Boehner Says U.S. Headed for Default

With more than a week ahead of the debt ceiling deadline and six days into a partial shutdown, House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday President Obama is risking default by not discussing House Republicans' demand for delay or defunding of the health care law and new spending cuts.

"We're not going to pass a clean debt limit increase," Boehner said during an interview with ABC's "This Week." "I told the president, there's no way we're going to pass one. The votes are not in the House to pass a clean debt limit. And the president is risking default by not having a conversation with us."

Boehner said the House thought it was time to take a stand against Obama's signature health care law, better known as "Obamacare." "And we took a stand." Many Republicans believe Obamacare, which is set to go into effect on Oct. 1, will cause premiums to rise steeply and harm the economy.

Could America default on debt payments if Obama refuses to budge from his stand? "That's the path we're on," Boehner said.

"I have 233 Republicans in the House," the Ohio Republican added. "And you've never seen a more dedicated group of people who are thoroughly concerned about the future of our country. They believe that Obamacare, all these regulations coming out of the administration, are threatening the future for our kids and our grandkids. It is time for us to stand and fight."

The fight was inevitable, Boehner went on to say. "We're in the fight. We don't want to shut the government down."

The Treasury Department is likely to hit its statutory debt ceiling on Oct. 17, and Congress' failure to increase the government's borrowing limit would directly affect the credibility of treasury bonds leading to a financial catastrophe.

Two years ago, Congress and the Obama administration narrowly averted default by agreeing to cut $2 trillion in spending over the following 10 years. That itself resulted in the financial services company Standard and Poor's lowering the U.S. credit rating for the first time.