Monday, 14 Jan 2013

President Obama said on Monday that he hasn't ruled out executive action to make new regulations against guns.

"I'm confident that there are some steps we could take that don't require legislation, that are within my power," Obama said at a White House press conference.

Obama added that he would be receiving recommendations on possible steps to reduce gun violence from Vice President Joe Biden's task force today, and that he would make those public later this week.

Obama said that stronger background checks and control of high-capacity magazine clips and a ban on assault weapons were proposals that he believed made sense.

Obama is to offer some proposals to reduce gun violence as a result of the massacre last month at a school in Newtown, Connecticut in which 20 children and six adults were shot to death.

Lawmakers, he said, will have to examine their own consciences when it comes to voting on gun measures.

Obama also is urging Congress to increase the debt ceiling, declaring "we're not a deadbeat nation." He insists he will not negotiate with Republicans over raising the government's borrowing authority and says there are no contingency plans to avoid congressional action.

"There are no magic tricks here. There are no loopholes. No easy outs," Obama said. 

Obama said Congress' failure to raise the government's borrowing limit would delay payments of benefits to veterans and Social Security recipients.

He said he is willing to hold talks with Republicans over reducing the government's deficits. But he says those negotiations should take place separately from action on the debt ceiling.

Even the threat of defaulting on government obligations is hurting the economy, Obama said.

The government has hit its $16.4 trillion borrowing limit and is expected to run out of ways to meet all of its obligations around March 1, perhaps earlier. Republicans wants spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling.

Threatening to not raise the debt ceiling, Obama said, is "absurd."

Without an increase, the government would not have enough money to pay interest to debt holders and pay for all government programs.

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