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Sunday, May 20, 2012 4:15 PM UTC

Party leaders refuse to budge on debt positions

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Topics: From the Wires,

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans and Democrats aren’t budging when it comes to their already hardened positions on spending cuts versus tax increases to deal with the nation’s debt.

House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell both said Sunday that when Congress is asked to raise the nation’s borrowing cap after the election, they’ll insist on spending cuts to offset the increase. McConnell said it was the “perfect time” to have a broader debt discussion.

Meanwhile, top Democratic leaders said the GOP stance was irresponsible. Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that Boehner “wants to go over the edge.”

A partisan showdown over the debt ceiling issue last year caused a downgrading of the U.S. government’s credit rating.

Boehner and Pelosi spoke on ABC’s “This Week.” McConnell appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

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