President Obama is pressing lawmakers to raise the federal debt ceiling and says he won't be drawn into negotiations.
"When it comes to the debt ceiling, we're not going back there," Obama said during a press conference in the State Dining Room of the White House on Friday.
His comments come after Treasury Secretary Jack Lew
Jacob (Jack) Joseph LewHogan urges Mnuchin to reconsider delay of Harriet Tubman bill Mnuchin says new Harriet Tubman bill delayed until 2028 Overnight Finance: US reaches deal with ZTE | Lawmakers look to block it | Trump blasts Macron, Trudeau ahead of G-7 | Mexico files WTO complaint MORE set a Nov. 5 deadline on Thursday for raising the debt limit to avert a potential default on current loans. That gives Congress just a few weeks to hammer out an agreement on the current $18.1 trillion limit.
Obama acknowledged that Speaker John Boehner
John Andrew BoehnerBoehner won't say whether he'd back Biden over Trump The Hill's Morning Report - Trump seizes House impeachment vote to rally GOP Amash's critics miss the fact that partisanship is the enemy of compromise MORE's (R-Ohio) plans to leave Congress in October will complicate budget negotiations with congressional leaders, but said he believed there is a path to an agreement.
"I do think there is still a path for us to come up with a reasonable agreement that raises the spending caps above sequester to make sure that we can properly finance both our defense and non-defense needs, that maintains a prudent control of our deficits and that we can do that in short order," Obama said.
"It's not that complicated. The math is the math," he added, saying he has spoken with BoehnerJohn Andrew BoehnerBoehner won't say whether he'd back Biden over Trump The Hill's Morning Report - Trump seizes House impeachment vote to rally GOP Amash's critics miss the fact that partisanship is the enemy of compromise MORE, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellMcConnell, Paul offer bill to cement tax provision benefiting bourbon makers Forget about Mueller, Democrats — we've got real work to do Overnight Defense: Trump vetoes Saudi arms sale resolutions | A look at Esper's first day as Pentagon chief | Iran, 'forever chemicals' mark early priorities | Budget deal set for Thursday House vote MORE (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid
Harry Mason ReidAl Franken says he 'absolutely' regrets resigning Dems open to killing filibuster in next Congress Webb: Questions for Robert Mueller MORE (D-Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Congress on Wednesday passed a short-term bill to keep the government funded through Dec. 11.
Obama said Friday that "extraneous issues" should be kept out of budget talks, mentioning the current fight over funding Planned Parenthood.
"You can't have an issue like that potentially wreck the entire U.S. economy, any more than I should hold the entire budget hostage to my desire to do something about gun violence," Obama said during the press conference, where he talked about gun control in the aftermath of Thursday's mass shooting at an Oregon college.
"There are some fights that we fight individually," Obama said.
