After the announcement of a debt deal on Sunday night, politicians reacted.
The president said:
"Now, this process has been messy; it’s taken far too long. I've been concerned about the impact that it has had on business confidence and consumer confidence and the economy as a whole over the last month. Nevertheless, ultimately, the leaders of both parties have found their way toward compromise. And I want to thank them for that."
Read more of his remarks here.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.:
For the last few weeks Congress has been locked in partisan gridlock. Today, I am relieved to say that leaders from both parties have come together for the sake of our economy to reach a historic, bipartisan compromise that ends this dangerous standoff. The compromise we have agreed to is remarkable not only because of what it does, but because of what it prevents: a first-ever default on the full faith and credit of the United States.
Sometimes it seems our two sides disagree on almost everything. But in the end, reasonable people were able to agree on this: the United States could not take the chance of defaulting on our debt, risking a United States financial collapse and a world-wide depression. America and the world have been watching our Democracy expectantly. And my message tonight is that this nation and this Congress are moving forward together. Reaching a long-term accord that would give our economy the certainty it needs was not easy.
But our work is not done. Leaders from both parties and in both chambers will present this agreement to our caucuses tomorrow. Senate Democrats will meet at 11 a.m. To pass this settlement, we’ll need the support of Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate. There is no way either party – in either chamber – can do this alone. As President Lyndon Johnson said, “There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves.”
Democrats and Republicans have rarely needed to come together more than today.
I know this agreement won’t make every Republican happy. It certainly won’t make every Democrat happy, either. Both parties gave more ground than they wanted to. And neither side got as much as it had hoped. But that is the essence of compromise. And the American people demanded compromise this week.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.:
"We all agree that our nation cannot default on our obligations and that we must honor our nation's commitments to our seniors, and our men and women in the military.
"I look forward to reviewing the legislation with my Caucus to see what level of support we can provide."
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