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| Debt ceiling: Fitch puts US credit rating under review | Debt ceiling: Fitch puts US credit rating under review |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ratings agency Fitch has put the US AAA credit rating under review for a downgrade as the deadline to raise the US borrowing limit draws closer. | Ratings agency Fitch has put the US AAA credit rating under review for a downgrade as the deadline to raise the US borrowing limit draws closer. |
| The move comes after Democrats rejected a plan by the Republican-led House of Representatives as an attempt to appease a small group of conservatives. | The move comes after Democrats rejected a plan by the Republican-led House of Representatives as an attempt to appease a small group of conservatives. |
| House of Representatives Republicans said they were planning to vote on a revised plan on Tuesday night. | |
| The US must raise its $16.7tn (£10.5tn) debt limit by Thursday or risk default. | The US must raise its $16.7tn (£10.5tn) debt limit by Thursday or risk default. |
| "The [Fitch] announcement reflects the urgency with which Congress should act to remove the threat of default hanging over the economy," a US Treasury spokesperson said. | "The [Fitch] announcement reflects the urgency with which Congress should act to remove the threat of default hanging over the economy," a US Treasury spokesperson said. |
| 'We have lost' | |
| While Fitch said it expected the debt limit to be raised soon, it added that "political brinkmanship" and "reduced financing flexibility could increase the risk of a US default". | |
| During a previous fiscal standoff on Capitol Hill in 2011, another credit rating agency, Standard & Poor's, downgraded the US rating from AAA to AA+. | During a previous fiscal standoff on Capitol Hill in 2011, another credit rating agency, Standard & Poor's, downgraded the US rating from AAA to AA+. |
| The latest budget battle began 15 days ago when conservative House Republicans brought about a partial government shutdown by demanding that President Barack Obama defund or delay his signature healthcare overhaul. | |
| The party subsequently dropped that position and by Tuesday morning House Republicans were seeking only minor changes to the 2010 Affordable Care Act. | |
| But following swift condemnation from the White House and Democrats, they amended their plan later in the day by ditching even those proposals. | |
| Gone from the latest Republican proposal was a measure to delay a medical device tax created under the law, commonly known as Obamacare. | |
| Also removed was a plan to impose tougher income verification standards on individuals and families seeking subsidies for medical care under the law. | |
| The new House plan would reopen the government until 15 December and raise the debt ceiling through to 7 February. | |
| The House of Representatives said it was planning to hold a vote on Tuesday on its proposal. | |
| But it is not clear if it has enough votes to pass in the lower chamber. And differences with an emerging Senate plan could complicate prospects for final passage before 17 October, when the US Treasury says the government will run out of money to pay its bills. | |
| Republican Senator John McCain, who was the party's 2008 presidential nominee, told the New York Times: "Republicans have to understand we have lost this battle. | |
| "As I predicted weeks ago, that we would not be able to win because we were demanding something that was not achievable." | |
| The White House has refused to negotiate over the health law, pointing out that it passed in 2010, was subsequently validated by the Supreme Court, and was a central issue in the 2012 presidential election, which Mr Obama won handily. |