Lew: A Gov’t Shutdown ‘Would Be a Terrible Mistake’ for Congress To Make

LEW: "And find a path to do that."

O'DONNEL: "Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling again. Are you worried at all about a Government shutdown?"

LEW: "Look, I think it will be a terrible mistake for Congress to -- have the self-inflicted wound of a government shutdown."

O'DONNEL: "We sound like a broken record don't we? I mean we have discussed this --" [crosstalk]

LEW: "I have said those words before. I think I've said them to you. Look there is no --"

O'DONNEL: "Is the treat less real this time?"

LEW: "It -- I take encouragement from the fact that the leaders, Republican leaders as well as Democratic leaders, say there's no reason for shut down. It is important that the leaders understand how bad it is to cause that kind of needless damage. You know, if you look at the stability of the U.S. economy, it's easy to kind of have questions start creeping back in. Government shutdowns, debt limit crises -- these kinds of things don't install confidence. Economies are built on confidence. So I think Congress really has to buckle down, do its job and it's not rocket science. Democrats and Republicans have to talk to each other. They proved just a couple years ago when they did agreement between Senator Murray and Congressman Ryan, that they can agree on spending levels that work for both parties, that pay for it in a reasonable way, that give Congress the ability to do its work for a year or two and -- and not have the kind of perils of Pauline of deadlines. I hope they can get there quickly. I think -- if you look around the world right now, and I said a few minutes ago that the world looks at the United States as kind of an anchor of stability. That's a real value to the United States. It [indecipherable] economic and our national security."