Boehner vows ‘whale of a fight’ over debt ceiling

{mosads}The Boehner remarks came on the same day the Treasury department officially said it will not be able to pay its bills without more borrowing after mid-October. The White House has said that it will not negotiate over the debt ceiling and argues the borrowing is needed to pay costs already authorized by Congress. A failure to meet obligations could result in a credit downgrade for the United States that would have the perverse effect of raising bond interest rates and increasing the deficit. 

The deadline is just two weeks after a government shutdown looms on Oct. 1. Boehner told his conference last week he prefers a short-term stopgap funding bill to be passed in September in order to allow a focus on the debt ceiling fight.