US lawmakers, media say Standard & Poor rating downgrade 'a wake-up call'

Standard & Poor's cut the US credit rating for the first time in history on Friday, saying the country's politicians are increasingly unable to come to grips with its massive fiscal deficit and debt load. S&P cut the US rating from its top-flight triple-A one notch to AA+, and added a negative outlook, saying it could be further downgraded in two years if progress is not made in cutting the huge government budget gap.


It was the first time the US was downgraded since it received an AAA rating from Moody's in 1917; it has held the S&P rating since 1941.

Top US lawmakers late on Friday expressed concern about Standard & Poor's decision to cut the US credit rating, saying it was "a wake-up call" for a nation saddled with a debt exceeding $14 trillion.

Senate Democratic majority leader Harry Reid said "the action by S&P reaffirms the need for a balanced approach to deficit reduction that combines spending cuts with revenue-raising measures like closing taxpayer-funded giveaways to billionaires, oil companies and corporate jet owners."

For more: US lawmakers, media say rating downgrade 'a wake-up call' - Hindustan Times