WASHINGTON—House Speaker John Boehner said he won't pass a bill to increase the U.S. debt ceiling without addressing longer-term spending and budget challenges, prolonging the standoff with the White House just weeks before the nation is expected to hit its statutory borrowing limit.
Mr. Boehner, speaking on ABC's "This Week," blamed President Barack Obama for refusing to talk with Republicans, saying the House can't pass a "clean" government spending plan that doesn't address any of the nation's underlying fiscal problems.
"I don't want the United States to default on its debt. But 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," Mr. Boehner said.
White House officials quickly accused Boehner of taking a hard-line position that brings the nation closer to default.
In response to Mr. Boehner's contention that the House couldn't pass a bill that would fund the government with no strings attached, White House officials said he should put the bill up for a vote and see if that's the case.
Dan Pfeiffer, a senior White House aide, tweeted Sunday: "Re Boehner: Why would a reasonable person need the threat of blowing up the economy to sit down and talk? That's the def of unreasonable."
Mr. Boehner's comments came on the sixth-day of a partial government shutdown that shows little sign of being resolved quickly. On Saturday, the House voted 407-0 vote to provide back pay to all furloughed federal workers once the shutdown ends. Yet neither party seems ready to abandon its terms for ending the shutdown.
Appearing on four morning talk shows, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew blamed "some very extreme parts of Congress" for the situation, and said the government will have almost zero wiggle room to operate after it hits the federal borrowing limit later this month.
Mr. Lew rejected an effort by Republicans to pass piecemeal spending bills that would re-open parts of the government.
"It's kind of ironic that the same members who chose to shut the government down are now identifying, item by item, the important things the government does," Mr. Lew said on CNN's State of the Union. "They just need to open the government up."
Republicans have sought to delay or cut off funding for President Barack Obama's health-care law as a condition for re-opening the government—an idea Mr. Obama has rejected.
Mr. Lew gave no ground on the importance of raising the legal U.S. borrowing limit of $16.7 trillion. Since May, the Treasury has taken a series of emergency measures to stay under the debt limit. Those would be used up no later than Oct. 17 unless Congress raises the cap.
"The American economy would be well served by getting some stability and some certainty," Mr. Lew said on "Fox News Sunday. "This brinksmanship over and over again is bad for the economy."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Fla.) criticized Mr. Obama and the Democrats for refusing to negotiate over changes to the administration's health-care law and over the government shutdown. Republicans want to delay portions of the Affordable Care Act or make other changes as part of any agreement that raises the debt limit or funds the government. Mr. Cruz, leader of a group of Republicans who forced a confrontation over the health-care law, said there's "great historical precedent," for attaching spending restrictions and other policy changes to measures that raise the federal borrowing limit.
"The president's demand—jack up the nation's credit card with no limits, no constraints—it's not a reasonable demand," Mr. Cruz said.
Mr. Lew, speaking on Fox News Sunday, said the president won't negotiate and won't allow Congress to use the threat of default as a sword to force other changes. Without action by Congress, the Treasury says it would be unable to issue new debt and have only $30 billion in cash on hand plus whatever it takes in from taxes and other fees. Mr. Lew rejected the idea of prioritizing payments and making only interest payments on the debt.
After the government reaches the debt limit, "Congress is playing with fire," Mr. Lew said on CNN. "We've never gotten to the point where the United States government has operated without the ability to borrow. It's very dangerous. It's reckless, because the reality is, there are no good choices if we run out of borrowing capacity and we run out of cash."
Mr. Boehner said Republicans want to have a "conversation about how we open the government and how we begin to pay our bills…it begins with a simple conversation."
Speaking on ABC, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) cast doubt on Mr. Boehner's claim that the House doesn't have enough votes to re-open the government. "I would bet there are the votes to pass it," Mr. Schumer said. So, Speaker Boehner, just vote. Put it on the floor and let's see if you're right."
