Bernanke Wants the Debt Ceiling Raised

Says doing so would not create new deficits

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Congress must raise the debt ceiling and not use a potential U.S. debt default as leverage to get spending cuts.

"Raising the debt ceiling, which Congress has to do periodically, gives the government the ability to pay its existing bills—it doesn't create new deficits, it doesn't create new spending," Bernanke said at the University of Michigan.