CONFIDENT

Obama: Congress Will Raise Debt Cap

If it’s tied to spending cuts.

As President Obama signs into law $38 billion in 2011 budget cuts, he’s already promising more: The president predicted Friday that Congress will vote to raise the nation’s borrowing limit rather than risk triggering a worldwide recession—but only if the deal includes more cuts. The government is approaching its borrowing limit of $14.3 trillion and risks going into default by July if the limit is not raised. Republicans, who swept into office with a mandate to trim the deficit, have said they will not vote to raise it without slashing the federal coffers again. In an interview, Obama conceded that “it’s not going to happen without spending cuts," but insisted that he'd come up with a "smart compromise."