House GOP leaders seize on S&P 'negative' outlook to call for more cuts

In a Monday statement, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the House majority leader, said S&P — which announced it was downgrading its outlook on American debt from “stable” to “negative” — had given Washington officials a wake-up call and that Republicans would not sign off on any debt limit increase that was not accompanied by “serious reforms.”

“For decades, Washington has blindly increased the debt limit while doing little to stop spending money that it doesn’t have, a dangerous pattern that must end,” Cantor said. “As S&P made clear, getting spending and our deficit under control can no longer be put off for another day.”