Jacob J. Lew: “I think the question with any of these mechanisms is: Is there a will to use it? Is there a will to make hard decisions?”

I don't think defaulting on payments to veterans is any better than defaulting on payments to foreign bond holders.

The real goal is not to restructure the debt. The real goal is to get back to economic growth.

The decision has never been made by the only people who can make the decision--that is the President of the United States on the advice of the Treasury Secretary--what to do.

You find cases of tax avoidance, and we know when you find cases of tax avoidance, voluntary compliance goes up.