Treasury's Lew: Obama 'Will Not Negotiate' Over Debt Limit

"What we need in our economy is some certainty. We don't need another self-inflicted wound," Lew said. "We don't need another crisis at the last minute."

Lew told CNBC that there cannot be any question that the United States is a country that pays its bills. "It's not as if we get to go back and undo the commitments we made," he said. "These are old bills that have to be paid."

The Obama administration on Monday warned Congress that the United States could run out of money to pay its bills soon after mid-October if lawmakers do not move swiftly to raise a limit on government borrowing.

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