Published:January 19th, 2011 10:34 EST

 Lawmakers face a difficult vote in several weeks over raising the government`s borrowing limit of $14.3 trillion. Failure to do so would send tremors through the markets and threaten a default. The vote is a sensitive one, especially for Republicans who campaigned on cutting the deficit and excoriated their Democratic opponents for voting to raise the limit on previous occasions.

Republican leaders have concluded they must raise the debt ceiling, but that any vote to do so has to be packaged with big spending cuts. Mr. Boehner`s comments marked an attempt to frame the existing debt as the Democrats` responsibility, which Republicans would address only in exchange for big cuts.

Democrats reject the notion that the debt is their responsibility. They say GOP policies, including tax cuts and a the war in Iraq, are at least as responsible for running up the debt. Among Mr. Boehner`s challenges is providing political cover for a large group of restless Republican freshmen who are resisting a debt limit hike. "Washington has an illness. The illness is spending," Mr. Boehner said. "The debt is a symptom of that illness. The American people want it cured."