U.S. President Barack Obama said Sunday night that he had reached a last-minute debt ceiling deal with Republican and Democratic leaders to stave off a looming debt default crisis.
A bipartisan plan could help lift the cloud of uncertainty over the U.S. economy and financial markets, he said at a hastily arranged press conference to ease market jitters. The U.S. federal government's borrowing limit, currently at 14.29 trillion U.S. dollars, was reached on May 16. The Treasury Department said that it would run out of cash to pay its bills unless Congress agreed to raise the limit by Aug. 2.
The first tranche of deficit cutting would be about 1 trillion U.S. dollars over the next decade, said Obama, adding that spending cuts would not come too quickly to hurt the fragile U.S. economic growth.
"The result would be the lowest level of annual domestic spending since Dwight Eisenhower was President -- but at a level that still allows us to make job-creating investments in things like education and research," he added.
The package would also set up a bipartisan congressional committee to find new deficit cutting ways in line with the second tranche of debt limit increase by November, Obama said.
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Sunday that the panel was endeavoring to find a deficit of at least 1.5 trillion dollars to trim.
Obama said this deal was not one he preferred, but added that "this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year."
Experts held that this package would lift the federal debt limit in two stages by at least 2.1 trillion dollars, enough to tide the White House over after the 2012 elections. But it was a tentative proposal, as any compromise plan still needs to clear a Democratic-controlled Senate and a Republican-held House.
"We're not done yet," Obama said, urging U.S. lawmakers to approve the debt ceiling compromise plan in next few days.
No votes on the deal were currently expected in either chamber of Congress until Monday at the earliest.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Sunday afternoon voiced his support to this blueprint plan, while House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Sunday afternoon that House Democrats have not decided whether to support the last-ditch deal.
VietNamNet/Xinhuanet
Article source: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/world-news/11365/obama-says-both-u-s--parties-reach-tentative-debt-ceiling-deal.html
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| U.S. President Barack Obama stands at the lectern to deliver remarks on the debt ceiling crisis in the briefing room at the White House in Washington July 31, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
The first tranche of deficit cutting would be about 1 trillion U.S. dollars over the next decade, said Obama, adding that spending cuts would not come too quickly to hurt the fragile U.S. economic growth.
"The result would be the lowest level of annual domestic spending since Dwight Eisenhower was President -- but at a level that still allows us to make job-creating investments in things like education and research," he added.
The package would also set up a bipartisan congressional committee to find new deficit cutting ways in line with the second tranche of debt limit increase by November, Obama said.
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said Sunday that the panel was endeavoring to find a deficit of at least 1.5 trillion dollars to trim.
Obama said this deal was not one he preferred, but added that "this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need, and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year."
Experts held that this package would lift the federal debt limit in two stages by at least 2.1 trillion dollars, enough to tide the White House over after the 2012 elections. But it was a tentative proposal, as any compromise plan still needs to clear a Democratic-controlled Senate and a Republican-held House.
"We're not done yet," Obama said, urging U.S. lawmakers to approve the debt ceiling compromise plan in next few days.
No votes on the deal were currently expected in either chamber of Congress until Monday at the earliest.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Sunday afternoon voiced his support to this blueprint plan, while House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Sunday afternoon that House Democrats have not decided whether to support the last-ditch deal.
VietNamNet/Xinhuanet
Article source: http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/world-news/11365/obama-says-both-u-s--parties-reach-tentative-debt-ceiling-deal.html
