Federal Budget | featured news

Standard and Poor's does not think the United States will default on its debt, the rating agency's president Deven Sharma said on Wednesday.

Americans already concerned about their jobs Wednesday begged Washington politicians to stop dithering, cut the budget and resolve a debt crisis they fear could lead to higher interest rates, or worse.

Rival Democratic and Republican plans to raise the government's borrowing ability have thrust Congress into a standoff just one week away from a potentially devastating debt crisis.

The Federal Aviation Administration was forced into a partial shutdown Monday after Congress failed to temporarily extend its funding. The agency was ordered to furlough thousands of employees and freeze $2.5 billion in airport construction money.

The International Monetary Fund call on US politicians to agree a "comprehensive solution" to raise the debt ceiling.

Scolded by President Barack Obama, Congress scrambled on Saturday to produce a deficit plan within 48 hours that keeps the United States from a catastrophic debt default now days away.

The Senate on Friday voted along party lines against the proposal to cut spending and raise the debt limit. President Obama pressed for compromise during a town hall meeting.

The government will lose about $200 million a week in airline ticket taxes if the Federal Aviation Administration is forced to shut down.

The White House signaled on Wednesday it could support a short-term increase in the U.S. borrowing limit for "a few days" if lawmakers agreed to a broad deficit reduction deal but needed more time to pass it.

President Barack Obama offered strong praise Tuesday for a deficit reduction plan put together by a bipartisan group of senators, calling the measure's mix of tax hikes and spending reforms "broadly consistent" with his own approach to the current debt ceiling crisis.