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.