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A government official tells ABC News that the federal government is expecting and preparing for bond rating agency Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the rating of US debt from its current AAA value. Officials reasons given will be the political confusion surrounding the process of raising the debt ceiling, and lack of confidence that the political system will be able to agree to more deficit reduction.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi confirmed that they would be moving toward a balance budget amendment on Friday, after rampant speculation that the European Central Bank would intervene bond markets and purchase Italian and Spanish debt in exchange for structural reforms.

China said Friday that debt deals in the United States and in Europe would not be enough to save their economies and "concrete steps" must be taken to rebalance the global economy. "The only way the Americans have come up with to improve economic growth has been to take on new loans to repay the old ones," a blistering commentary published on the official Xinhua news agency said. "To eat May's grain in April, however, will never be a permanent solution to a problem," the report said. China warned on Wednesday that Washington's efforts to raise the US limit on...

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords returned to Washington, D.C. Monday, seven months after her tragic attack to cast her vote in favor of raising the debt ceiling. Her timing couldn't be better to unveil the absolutely relentless hypocrisy of left-wing media and politics. The vicious attack on Giffords sparked a whirlwind of criticism over the violent rhetoric of the right in which the media castigated the tea party for its tone. Sarah Palin was criticized relentlessly over a map depicting crosshairs over vulnerable democrats, similar to the DNC's use of targets on Republicans. Most heinously, Giffords' attacker, Jared Loughner, was assumed by...

"We, the Senate Majority Leader, The President, and myself, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, have had a further meeting today and are agreed in recognizing that the question of the debt ceiling and possible default is of the first importance for both houses of Congress, the President, and for our country. "We regard the Bill passed by the House and the companion Bill in the Senate and the President's promise to sign the reconciled bill as symbolic of the desire of both Parties never to put politics above country again. "We are resolved that the method of consultation...

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, you know, I think -- it will be interesting to see what happens. The Tea Party, I think, had an enormous victory, because they did change the discussion here in Washington. It's a little bit like trying to change the direction of an aircraft carrier. It's not easy. So they certainly, I mean, that's huge. And I'm sort of curious whether the American people will now sort of take a bow, those who are Tea Party activists, and go back to their lives, which are very busy and very full, and they're worried about their own lives,...

Let’s begin with a brief quiz. It’s the middle of the night and you awaken to the sound of your dog barking. You open your eyes and notice smoke drifting in beneath your door. The room is noticeably warm, and you can make out a faint, flickering, orange glow through the smoky haze. Your house is on fire. What’s your first response? Should you (a), go online to take advantage of that terrific offer you received for a “his and her” burial plot; or (b), get everyone safely out of the house and phone the fire department? Call me psychic,...

Much is going on in Washington, DC …the debt ceiling vote and debate…and the harsh words for the Tea Party movement and caucus. Governor Sarah Palin joins us to discuss these issues…10pm eastern, ON THE RECORD !

The American government is at risk of defaulting on their debt. To remedy it, they want to go into even more debt. This cannot go on forever. It has to stop.

@BarackObama you're wrong, threatening to throw seniors under the bus because you refuse to prioritize govt spending.Time to #womanup & lead @BarackObama wants us to support a "balanced deficit solution." Great idea! How about a balanced budget amendment?

“The White House immediately dismissed the new version, with spokesman Jay Carney calling it "moot and irrelevant" and certain to fail in the Senate.” This is a quote from an AP story by the following: Charles Babington and Donna Cassata, Associated Press, On Friday July 29, 2011, 1:47 pm EDT It is about the changes to the “Boehner plan” that are causing the Tea Party conservatives to agree to vote for it. This version will only increase a second time if the congress sends a Balance Budget Amendment to the States. So the White House is arrogant enough to believe...

"WASHINGTON—Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid served notice Friday that he's pushing ahead with his debt-limit bill as House Speaker John Boehner's rival measure languished in limbo, further escalating a wrenching political standoff that has heightened fears of a market-rattling government default. "This is likely our last chance to save this nation from default," Reid declared glumly on the Senate floor, as a Tuesday's deadline drew closer. Reid's move came with Boehner's bill still in wait of a vote and a bitter standoff between GOP leaders and their conservative rank and file. Demoralized House Republicans were striving for a third straight...

The Tight Rope The dilemma of Speaker Boehner resembles the act of a tight rope walker, if he ventures too far to the right he faces the twin risks of a default which might well lead to an financial meltdown for which he and the Republicans are liable to get the blame, the alienation of the independents, and the loss of the 2012 election. If he leans too far to the left, he risks alienating his base and the Tea Party by compromising too much and thereby risks a third-party rupture which will hand the 2012 election to the Democrats....

Sarah Palin criticizes Boehner for trying to reinvent the wheel and not sticking with Cut, Cap, and Balance which is why he is having trouble getting enough votes to pass his current plan. But she also criticizes Obama for scaring the American people with this crisis mentality and says he doesn’t understand that we have a spending problem in this country, which prompts her to reiterate: “It’s the spending stupid!” "That's the hypocrisy that I guess is inherit in this politics as usual from these Washington DC characters, they say one thing as candidates and they get elected and do...

The following is a comparison of previous increases in the nation's legal ability to borrow money, known as the debt ceiling: Total increase in debt ceiling under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton: $3.15 trillion Total increase in debt ceiling during President Obama's 28 months in office when it hit May 16th: $3.144 trillion ========================== Under President Ronald Reagan: 17 debt ceiling hikes from $935 billion to $2.8 trillion Debt ceiling increased $1.865 trillion -- an average of $109.7 billion each hike. --- Under the first Bush administration:...

While officials from the Obama Administration raised their rhetoric over the weekend about the possibility of a debt default if the debt ceiling isn't raised, they privately have been telling top executives at major U.S. banks that such an event won’t happen, FOX Business has learned. In a series of phone calls, administration officials have told bankers that the administration will not allow a default to happen even if the debt cap isn't raised by the August 2 date Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says the government will run out of money to pay all its bills, including obligations to bond...

My last blog before I went on holiday was about the debt crisis. It's still going on. President Obama is to address the nation this evening. One of the most interesting interventions while I was away was from the UK's Liberal Democrat cabinet minister Vince Cable. He said the world's economy was being put in peril by "a few right-wing nutters" in the American Congress.If they are nutters, they are remarkably successful ones. The truth is that Tea Party-backed Republicans are winning this fight over raising the debt ceiling. It is far from over. But they've already won the argument...

While officials from the Obama Administration raised their rhetoric over the weekend about the possibility of a debt default if the debt ceiling isn't raised, they privately have been telling top executives at major U.S. banks that such an event won’t happen, FOX Business has learned. In a series of phone calls, administration officials have told bankers that the administration will not allow a default to happen even if the debt cap isn't raised by the August 2 date Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says the government will run out of money to pay all its bills, including obligations to bond...

Last week I documented what I thought was a major crisis of leadership in the White House regarding our national debate over the debt ceiling and debt. The crisis in the Oval Office is apparently even worse than I thought — and frankly, I thought it was pretty bad to begin with. This weekend we learned that President Obama has more or less abdicated leadership on this issue. If he can’t get his way, which includes raising taxes and raising the debt ceiling, he doesn’t even want to talk. Congressional leaders are meeting without the president or even any of...

HONG KONG (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is in Hong Kong to extol the virtues of American financial policies and values despite the currently poor state of the economy and the stalemate over the national debt. In a speech Monday to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce here, Clinton will appeal to China and other Asian nations not to lose faith in the American model. *** Clinton's comments come as world financial markets warily watch developments in Washington, where the White House and Congress remain deadlocked in a fiercely partisan debate over increasing the debt ceiling ahead...