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US Treasury Chief Sees 'Broad Consensus' on Debt Reduction

   VOA News  April 19, 2011
   US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is interviewed on ABC's 'This
   Week' in Washington, April 17, 2011

Photo: AP

   US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is interviewed on ABC's 'This
   Week' in Washington, April 17, 2011

   The U.S. treasury chief says there is "broad consensus" between the
   White House and top congressional leaders to cut the country's $14
   trillion debt level by $4 trillion over the next 10 to 12 years.
   Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the CNBC television network
   Tuesday that the "challenges are daunting" for Democratic and
   Republican leaders to agree on how the nation's long-term debt should
   be cut, but that "we can meet them."
   He said "the chances are better today" than they have been in a long
   time to lock in "credible targets" for debt reduction. He said it is
   necessary for the debt burden to start to decline so that the country's
   economic long-term growth prospects improve.
   Geithner said he disagreed with the Standard & Poor's downgrade on
   Monday of the U.S. economic outlook from "stable" to "negative." He
   said the U.S. is a younger country than others with the "Triple-A"
   credit rating and that its commitment for various social welfare
   programs is less than in other countries with the same top rating.
   But he warned that the U.S. must act to start its debt reduction.
   Geithner said that continuing to borrow 40 cents of every dollar it
   spends is "completely unsustainable."
   Congressional Republicans and the White House, led by Democratic
   President Barack Obama, have proposed competing debt-reduction plans.
   Republicans in the House of Representatives have approved a
   far-reaching 2012 spending plan that would cut spending by $6 trillion
   over the next decade, partly by revamping and trimming government
   spending on health care for the elderly and poor. Obama has suggested a
   mix of spending cuts and increased taxes on the nation's wealthy.
   Stock exchanges across Asia endured selloffs on Tuesday amid investor
   anxiety over the S&P downgrade of the U.S. economic outlook.
   Tokyo's main Nikkei index dropped nearly 1.25 percent by the close of
   the trading day, while Hong Kong's main index, the Hang Seng, lost 1.3
   percent. Share prices in Shanghai, Sydney and Seoul also fell in
   response to Monday's downgrade.
   S&P lowered the U.S. outlook over concerns the Obama administration and
   congressional lawmakers will not be able to agree on how to reduce the
   country's massive debt. The agency signaled it could cut the country's
   top-ranked credit rating within two years.
   That would lead to higher borrowing rates for the U.S. government, as
   similar credit rating downgrades have for debt-ridden European
   governments.

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