By DONNA CASSATA and CHARLES BABINGTON
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, right, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Va., left, face reporters during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, following a closed-door Republican strategy meeting as the partial government shutdown enters its second week with no end in sight. President Barack Obama called John Boehner once again saying he won’t negotiate over reopening the government or must-pass legislation to prevent a U.S. default on its obligations. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hard-line House Republicans are dismissing dire warnings that a government default would wreck U.S. and world economies. They say it’s another case of hyperbole from an Obama administration that already cried wolf on automatic budget cuts and a partial government shutdown.
At the same time, congressional Democrats have agreed to so many exemptions to the partial government shutdown that they’ve mitigated the pain and kept nearly all federal spending alive.
Several GOP conservatives challenged Treasury Secretary Jack Lew’s insistence that on Oct. 17 the United States will no longer have the ability to borrow and the threat of default would be imminent.
Republican Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida says he doesn’t think the U.S. will ever default.
