Sen. Coburn denies default risk: 'There’s no such thing as a debt ceiling'

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who has called himself a "global warming denier," on Monday said that there was also "no such thing as a debt ceiling."

The Oklahoma Republican told CBS host Norah O'Donnell that Congress would eventually pass a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government and end the current shutdown due to pressure from the public.

"The debt ceiling and the CR are the same thing," he explained. "There is no such thing as a debt ceiling in this country because it's never been not increased. And that's why we're $17 trillion in debt."

"And I would dispel the rumor that's going around that you hear on every newscast, that if we don't raise the debt ceiling, we will default on our debt," Coburn continued. "We won't. We'll continue to pay our interest. We'll continue to redeem bonds, and we'll issue new bonds to replace those."

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned that the nation would default on its debts if Congress did not act to raise the debt limit by Oct. 17.

"If the United States government, for the first time in its history, chooses not to pay its bills on time, we will be in default," Lew said. “I’m telling you that on the 17th, we run out of our ability to borrow, and Congress is playing with fire."

Watch this video from CBS' This Morning, broadcast Oct. 7, 2013.

(h/t: The Huffington Post)