Obama refuses to negotiate with Congress

US President Barack Obama says he will not negotiate with Congress over raising the country's debt ceiling.

Speaking at a year-end press conference in Washington, he praised Congress for a recent budget compromise that averted a fresh government shutdown. But he told
reporters that the debt ceiling is not something that ought to be used as leverage and he does not expect another stand-off over the issue.

He said US lawmakers should raise the federal government's borrowing cap in a timely manner.

To avoid a repeat of October's government shut down, Congress will need to approve a new deal soon. So far, they have only approved a short-term deal to fund the government through January 15th and raise the debt ceiling until February 7th.
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