President Obama Has Now Signed the Debt Bill

They all have and will get everything they want Liars Bigots traitors ,...scum.

Here's a great article by William Rivers Pitt from truthout...says it all.

http://www.truth-out.org/president-reverse/1312300026

No soup for you!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43982892/ns/politics-capitol_hill/#.TjhL4ah5w08

MSNBC...

Debt bill passes Senate, Obama signs it

'We can't balance the budget on the backs of the people who've borne the brunt of this recession,' president says after vote

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msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 11 minutes ago

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. avoided a feared and catastrophic default on the American debt, as lawmakers on Tuesday passed a measure that ties an agreement to raise the government's capacity to borrow to steep cuts in government spending.

The Senate passed the measure Tuesday, a day after it passed the House of Representatives, and President Barack Obama quickly signed it into law.

The emergency bill increases the nation's $14.3 trillion cap on borrowing, thus avoiding default just hours before the midnight deadline, and begins the process of curbing the country's spiraling debt.

The administration had said the government could not pay all its bills without the new borrowing authority, and it warned that default would severely damage the global economy and push the U.S. back into recession or worse. Even with the legislation now in place, there are fears that the last-minute sparring could shake rating agencies' confidence and harm the country's Triple-A credit rating.

Though the compromise deal passed, it deeply angered both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats. Many Republicans contended the bill still would cut too little from federal spending; many Democrats said much too much.

A deeply frustrated President Barack Obama, while praising Congress for finally passing the compromise bill, demanded legislators immediately turn their attention to fixing the economy and creating jobs.

"We've got to do everything in our power to grow this economy and put America back to work," he said, shortly after the Senate voted 74-26 to pass the measure.

He also said he was not giving up on his insistence that Congress allow taxes to be raised on big corporations, through an end to loopholes, and the richest Americans once both houses return from their summer recess in early September. The measure that now becomes law relies wholly on cutting spending as a tool for lowering the American deficit.

"We can't balance the budget on the backs of the people who've borne the brunt of this recession," the president said.

After weeks of some of the nastiest political battles in recent U.S. history, both the Senate and House easily adopted the plan. In tandem, legislators approved more than $2 trillion of budget cuts over the upcoming decade.

Because the deal prescribes significant cuts to U.S. federal spending, it was widely expected to buoy global investors and diminish chances of Treasury bonds undergoing a credit downgrade. That would increase the cost of borrowing both for the government and consumers.

But as the measure cleared its last legislative hurdle, world markets were down, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrials off for an eighth straight day.

"Neither side got all it wanted, each side laments what it didn't get," Democratic Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid said.

"Today we made sure America can pay its bills. Now it's time to make sure all Americans can pay theirs," said Reid, foreshadowing Democrats plans to shift their attention to creating jobs. U.S. unemployment remains above 9 percent.

Investors were unnerved by spreading debt troubles in Europe and a decline in U.S. consumer spending to the lowest level in two years. The bad news signaled a further slowing of the fragile U.S. economic recovery and snuffed out optimism over the hard-fought vote in Congress.

Polls showed that Congress and Obama have taken a sharp hit in U.S. public opinion because of the prolonged battle over lifting the debt ceiling, something that past Congresses have done as a matter of course.

Without legislation in place by the end of Tuesday, the Treasury would run out of cash needed to pay investors in Treasury bonds, recipients of Social Security pension checks, anyone relying on military veterans' benefits and businesses that do work for the government.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told ABC News Monday that he doesn't know if the bruising debt-limit battle will harm America's Triple-A credit rating, but says he fears "world confidence was damaged by this spectacle."

Geithner told ABC that credit rating is "not my judgment to make." But he also says "this is, in some ways, a judgment on the capacity of Congress to act."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/08/02/Obama-signs-debt-ceiling-bill-into-law...

UPI...

Obama signs debt ceiling bill into law
Published: Aug. 2, 2011 at 2:48 PM

Photo: U.S. President Barack Obama discusses the debt ceiling bill, passed by the Senate today and the House yesterday, which averts a U.S. default on its loans in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on August 2, 2011. Today was the deadline to raise the debt ceiling or face default. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- President Obama signed into law Tuesday legislation raising the United States' debt limit and reducing the federal deficit.

"[The] president has signed the bill and turned it into law," White House spokesman Jay Carney said during the daily briefing.

The Senate passed the compromise measure Tuesday on a 74-26 vote. The bill cleared the House of Representatives Monday on a 269-161 tally.

Now that the U.S. Congress has removed the threat of default, it's time for the next phase of the deficit reduction process, Obama said after the Senate OKd the measure.

"Congress has now approved a compromise to reduce the deficit and avert a default that would have devastated our economy," Obama said soon after the Senate passed the bill.

"This is, however, just the first step. This compromise requires that both parties work together on a larger plan to cut the deficit, which is important for the long-term health of our economy."

The measure gives the U.S. Treasury an immediate $400 billion in additional borrowing authority. The plan raises the $14.3 trillion debt limit $2.1 trillion to $2.4 trillion in three steps. Another $500 billion would be available in the fall, unless two-thirds of both chambers vote to prevent it, and a final increase would come early next year, giving the U.S. Treasury enough borrowing power to pay bills into early 2013.

The measure would cut $917 billion in spending over 10 years, starting with $21 billion in the fiscal year starting in October. The bill also creates a congressional committee charged with closing the deficit an additional $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion. If the panel deadlocks or Congress doesn't accept its plan, a prearranged set of spending cuts would kick in, including steep cuts to defense and entitlement programs poised as a guillotine to prod the committee and Congress to act.

"Since you can't close the deficit with just spending cuts, we'll need a balanced approach where everything's on the table," Obama said, laying down a gauntlet for Republicans. "Yes, that means making some adjustments to protect healthcare programs like Medicare so they're there for future generations. It also means reforming our tax code so that the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations pay their fair share."

It also means eliminating taxpayer subsidies and closing tax loopholes, he said.

"I've said it before, I will say it again: We can't balance the budget on the backs of the very people who have borne the biggest brunt of this recession," Obama said. "Everyone's going to have to chip in. That's only fair. That's the principle I'll be fighting for during the next phase of this process."

Before approved the debt ceiling compromise, senators gave impassioned speeches for or against the measure.

"This bill does begin the process of changing behavior," Sen. Roy Blount, R-Mo., said during debate leading up to the vote.

Recalling a sentiment observed by a former senator, Blount said the bill "is not the best possible bill, but it's the best bill possible."

"This bill does not solve the problem, but it at least forces Washington to admit that it has one," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said. "And it puts us on a path of recovery … in restoring balance. We have changed the debate; we have headed in right direction."

While the world witnessed a "lot of political wrangling" during the past few weeks, observers also saw lawmakers reach a historic decision, Senate Majority Harry Reid said.

"The product we have here is one of compromise," Reid, D-Nev., said. "There's principally one winner here and that's the American people."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said he couldn't support the bill, even though it had several aspects "conservatives could hang their hats on."

Hatch said the threat of a downgrade in the United States' credit rating "comes from a failure of will."

Obama "needs to accept responsibility for an economy that has worsened under his leadership," Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said when announcing he would vote no.

Paul said the nation wouldn't go into default Tuesday, but it would default in "a more insidious" manner later because the dollar would be devalued as more money is needed to repay the U.S. debt.

The debate is "about the future of our country. It's about saving ourselves from ourselves," he said.

Reid said he hoped the spirit of compromise would extend beyond the past few days.

"It's time for Congress to get back to the people's business," Reid said, "There's nothing more important than that."

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Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/08/02/Obama-signs-debt-ceiling-bill-into-law...

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-debt-20110802,0,6830666.story

Los Angeles Times...

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With debt debate over, Obama urges focus on jobs

Photo: President Obama speaks from the Rose Garden at the White House after final passage of a debt-ceiling increase in Congress on Tuesday. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

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By Michael A. Memoli Washington Bureau

August 2, 2011, 11:07 a.m.

President Obama marked the end of the "long and contentious" debt-limit debate Tuesday afternoon, lamenting that the "manufactured crisis" has stunted the economic recovery and promising a return to a jobs-focused agenda.

The president spoke from the Rose Garden moments after the Senate gave final approval to the deal by a vote of 74-26. The House had voted for it by a surprisingly comfortable 269-161 margin on Monday.

Obama signed the measure more than an hour after the Senate vote, ensuring that the nation is able to continue borrowing money to pay its bills.

The president called the deficit-reduction measures paired with the debt-limit increase an "important first step to ensuring that as a nation we continue living within our means." But he also said he would continue to fight for a "balanced" approach when Congress continues the debate this fall.

"I've said it before, I will say it again: We can't balance the budget on the backs of the very people who have born the biggest brunt of this recession," he said.

The months-long debate has sapped all parties in Washington of popular support, including Obama. Last week, his approval rating sank to an all-time low in the Gallup daily tracking poll, at 40%.

At the same time, any sense of an economy in recovery mode seems to have gone out the window because of the uncertainty sparked by the debt-limit debate.

"While Washington has been absorbed in this debate about deficits, people across the country are asking what can we do to help the father looking for work," Obama said. "That's part of the reason that people are so frustrated with what's been going on in this town. ... Our economy didn't need Washington to come along with a manufactured crisis to make things worse."

Democrats, many unhappy with the terms of the final accord, are eager to move on from the debate and focus on jobs after they return from the August recess. Obama signaled that in his remarks, calling for consideration of various measures, including an extension of middle-class tax cuts, the adoption of trade deals and a new infrastructure bank.

"Both parties share power in Washington. And both parties need to take responsibility for improving this economy," he said.

A fresh indicator of the nation's economic health is to come Friday with the release of new monthly jobs data.

On the eve of his 50th birthday, Obama is due to fly to Chicago on Wednesday for fundraisers for his reelection campaign.

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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10742621

New Zealand Herald...

Obama signs US debt crisis bill

By NZ Herald staff
6:33 AM Wednesday Aug 3, 2011

Barack Obama has been demanding an increase in the US$14.3 trillion debt limit that lasts through the 2012 election, when he is seeking another term. Photo / AP

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Barack Obama has been demanding an increase in the US$14.3 trillion debt limit that lasts through the 2012 election, when he is seeking another term. Photo / AP

American President Barack Obama has this morning signed a bill which will increase the nation's debt ceiling to avert the country defaulting on payments.

Prior to signing the bill, Obama said the bill a first step toward ensuring the United States lives within its means but that more was needed to rebuild the world's largest economy.

Speaking at the White House, Obama made clear he expects tax reform to emerge from deliberations by a new committee of Democrats and Republicans to be established by the legislation and a "balanced approach" in which the wealthier pay more taxes is needed for more deficit reduction.

Responsibility must be shared

Earlier the bill, which will lift the government's US$14.3 trillion debt ceiling enough to last beyond the next year's elections, was passed by the Senate 74 to 26.

Obama, a Democrat, said uncertainty from the bitter debt debate had been an impediment to business but the economic recovery also suffered from unforeseen problems such as the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

Obama urged Congress to pass stalled trade bills and said he wants tax cuts for the middle class and unemployment benefits extended.

"Both parties share power in Washington. And both parties need to take responsibility for improving this economy.

"I'll be discussing additional ideas in the weeks ahead to help companies hire, invest and expand."

Obama chided US political leaders for taking so long to resolve the impasse over the debt ceiling, bringing the country close to an unprecedented default.

"We have seen in the past few days that Washington has the ability to focus when there is a timer ticking down and when there is a looming disaster," he said. "It shouldn't take the risk of default, the risk of economic catastrophe, to get folks in this town to work together and do their jobs."

Obama also urged the Senate to break an impasse that has resulted in a partial shutdown of federal aviation programs.

"There is another stalemate in Congress right now involving our aviation industry which has stalled airport construction projects all around the country and put the jobs of tens of thousands of construction workers and others at risk because of politics," he said.

"It's another Washington-inflicted wound on America and Congress needs to break that impasse now, hopefully before the Senate adjourns, so these folks can get back to work."

Cuts expected

Meanwhile the top US military officer is telling anxious troops that cuts in health care, retirement and benefits for the military are all potential targets for cuts as America struggles to rein in spending.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said while the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are going down as US forces withdraw over the next few years, the latest debt agreement will demand defence cuts, and nothing is off the table.

From the Marines battling a fierce insurgency in south-western Afghanistan to soldiers packing up to leave Iraq, troops are quizzing Mullen about rumours that military retirement benefits and health care would be affected by the debt compromise being hammered out in Congress.

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By NZ Herald staff

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20086930-503544.html

CBS News...

August 2, 2011 12:38 PM

Senate passes, Obama signs debt limit bill

By
Lucy Madison

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Photo: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
(Credit: CBS/AP)

Updated:2:26 p.m. ET

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President Obama signed a bill to raise the nation's borrowing limit on Tuesday, just hours after the Senate voted 74-26 in favor of the deal that will cut government spending by trillions and effectively raise the debt ceiling through the end of 2012.

Nineteen Republican senators and six Democratic senators voted against the bill, as did one Independent senator who caucuses with Democrats. The bill was brokered Sunday night in last-minute negotiations between the White House and congressional leaders.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a key player in the negotiations, and Majority Leader Harry Reid,D-Nev., both backed the bill - paving the way for its easy passage in the Senate.

The six Democrats who voted against the measure on Tuesday were sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Tom Harkin (Ia.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), Bob Menendez (N.J.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Ben Nelson (Neb.). Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also voted against the measure.

The plan will cut nearly $1 trillion in government spending over the next 10 years and raise the amount of money the U.S. is legally allowed to borrow by enough to avoid another showdown on the matter before next year's presidential election.

It will also create a special congressional committee of a dozen members -- three from each party from the House and the Senate - that would be tasked with coming up with recommendations for $1.5 trillion in further deficit reductions by Thanksgiving. Those reductions could include cuts from defense and social safety net programs, as well as changes to the tax code. If the recommendations are not created or approved by Congress by the end of the year, there will be more than $1 trillion automatic spending cuts unless a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is sent to the states.

In remarks following the vote, President Obama called the deal a "first step" toward "ensuring that as a nation we live within our means," and reiterated his hope for a "balanced approach" in future negotiations.

"This compromise guarantees more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction. It's an important first step to ensuring that as a nation we live within our means," he said.

Mr. Obama added that the compromise "requires that both parties work together on a larger plan to cut the deficit, which is important for the long-term health of our economy. And since you can't close the deficit with just spending cuts, we will need a balanced approach, where everything is on the table."

"Everyone will have to chip in," he said. "That's only fair. That's the principle I will be fighting for during the next phase of this process."

The legislation was brought to a vote in the House Monday night after weeks of contentious negotiations and closed-door deal-making that fell apart on multiple occasions. Despite serious reservations among both Republicans and Democrats, the bill passed 269-191 with bipartisan support in the House.

In a press conference following the vote, Reid told reporters that while "neither side got what they wanted,"in the end, "the two sides came together."

"That's how our system works," he said. "That's what compromise is all about."

Still, Reid emphasized that the fight to include revenues in the package was far from over.

"We look forward to the work on the [congressional] committee to make sure that millionaires and billionaires and corporate jet owners and people who have that yachts who get tax benefits, oil companies who get these huge tax subsidies -- that that's in the mix of thinking what goes on," he said. "That's what this select committee is going to be about."

In a statement following the vote, House Speaker John Boehner called the bill's passage "a positive step forward."

"This is a positive step forward that begins to rein in federal spending, but it's only a step," he said in the statement. "We should save the celebration for when a Balanced Budget Amendment is ratified, the deficit is fixed, and our economy has returned to creating jobs."

McConnell noted in remarks before the Senate vote that while the contentious back-and-forth over the debt debate may have been unpleasant, "it was a debate that Washington very much needed to have."

"The legislation that the Senate is about to vote on is just a first step - but it is a crucial step toward fiscal sanity," he said.

Now that Mr. Obama has signed the bill, the debate will shift to the question of which lawmakers will serve on the bipartisan "super committee" tasked with coming up with recommendations for $1.5 trillion for the second round of reductions.

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Los Angeles Times:

Headline...

Breaking News: Obama signs legislation to avert default

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http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/08/201182159191482.html

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Al Jazeera News...

Obama signs US debt ceiling bill into law

President Obama authorises measure to avert US debt default after Senate votes 74 to 26 to pass bill.

Last Modified: 02 Aug 2011 18:15

The eleventh hour deal came after weeks of political wrangling between Republicans and Democrats [GALLO/GETTY]

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The US Senate has approved a bill that raises the country's borrowing limit and averts a possible default, after the lower house of congress approved it on Monday following weeks of political wrangling.

The upper house of congress passed the measure by 74 votes to 26. It required 60 votes to pass.

Barack Obama, the US president, is signed the bill into law following Tuesday's vote.

The earlier passage of the bill by the Republican-controlled House came a day before the deadline to lift the debt ceiling, with agreement between Republicans and Democrats over the $2.1 trillion deficit-cutting plan reached over the weekend.

In remarks delivered immediately following the passage of the bill in the senate, Obama said that "both parties need to take responsibility for improving this economy".

The president emphasised the need for congress to work towards passing stalled trade bills that created more jobs. He also said that he wanted to see unemployment benefits extended.

Obama said that politicians need to continue to work towards finding a balanced approach to reducing the deficit, including some adjustments to healthcare benefit plans for the elderly and reforming the tax code so that the wealthy pay more.

"We can't balance the budget on the backs of the very people who have borne the biggest brunt of this recession," he said.

No immediate tax increases

The vote in the Senate had been virtually guaranteed to pass the bill, with Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader, and Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, both backing it.

It passed with support from 45 Democrats, 28 Republicans and an independent. Nineteen Republicans, six Democrats and an independent voted no.

The bill, which contains no immediate tax increases, raises the borrowing limit into 2013, calls for spending cuts spread over 10 years and creates a congressional committee to recommend a deficit-reduction package by late November.

It does not spell out where the spending cuts should be made and instead puts off decisions about which programmes will bear the brunt.

World markets were initially down, despite the news, with the US Dow Jones Industrials bearish for the eight straight day on the back of spreading debt troubles in Europe and a decline in US consumer spending.

Al Jazeera's Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington DC, said that there was a lot of public anger over the way that the US congress went about dealing with this crisis.

"If you ask the American public across the board they blame anybody who currently holds elected office in Washington ... what is possibly going to impact the president here is what he's done to his base," she said.

"You'll hear from lawmakers here on Capitol Hill, especially the more on the far left [that] they feel as if the president simply walked up to the negotiating table and got nothing in return from the Republicans. They feel that he basically threw the Democrats here on Capitol Hill under the bus, is an expression I've heard a couple of times."

Credit rating fears

On Tuesday, Timothy Geithner, the US treasury secretary, said that it was unclear if the passage of the debt ceiling deal would ensure that the country did not lose its prized AAA rating from international credit ratings agencies.

The Fitch ratings agency retained its AAA rating for the US immediately following the passage of the bill, but more prominent firms Moody's and Standard & Poor's were yet to report.

The deal falls short of the $4 trillion in fiscal consolidation that rating agencies had indicated would be sufficient to retain the current rating.

Fitch said that the deal was an important first step, but "not the end of the process". The agency will be concluding its review of the US sovereign rating by the end of August, and it said that if matters remain as they stand, it could still downgrade the US debt at that time.

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