US House Speaker John Boehner (Gage Skidmore)

"We are going to pursue strategies that will obligate the Senate to finally join the House in confronting the government's spending problem. The principle is simple: no budget, no pay," House Speaker John Boehner announced from a GOP retreat in Virginia, where House Republican leaders have spent three days discussing the nation's $16.4 trillion debt ceiling and impending $110 billion across-the-board budget cuts. Boehner added that without a budget, there should be no long-term increase in the debt ceiling.

President Barack Obama has voiced his opposition to short-term extensions. "…We shouldn't be doing this...on a one to three-month timeframe. Why would we do that? This is the United States of America...What, we can't manage our affairs in such a way that we pay our bills and we provide some certainty in terms of how we pay our bills?" he asked at a news conference last Monday.

The deadline for Congress to pass a formal budget resolution is April 15.

An Associated Press-GfK poll found that 53 percent of Americans feel that without an extension, the US will "face a major economic crisis." 27 percent consider such a crisis "somewhat likely," and 17 percent consider it unlikely. 

For more on the debt ceiling poll go here. 

For an opinion on the history of the debt ceiling go here.

To reach Executive Producer Lauren Madow go here.

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