White House News: REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT, Posted by Menelik Zeleke

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release                        July 31, 2011

  

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

8:40 P.M. EDT

     THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  There are still some very important votes to be taken by members of Congress, but I want to announce that the leaders of both parties, in both chambers, have reached an agreement that will reduce the deficit and avoid default -- a default that would have had a devastating effect on our economy.

Democrats try to break U.S. debt impasse, Posted by Meosha Eaton

(Reuters) - Senate Democrats aimed to seize the initiative in efforts to head off a ruinous U.S. debt default by pushing their deficit-cutting plan on Saturday towards a possible compromise with a divided Republican Party.

Entrenched differences were still hampering a compromise as Democratic leaders accused their Republican counterparts of obstructionism, less than 100 hours before the government says it will run out of money to pay all its bills.

U.S. growth anaemic, debt row poses recession risk, Posted by Meosha Eaton

(Reuters) - The U.S. economy stumbled badly in the first half of 2011 and came dangerously close to contracting in the January-March period, raising the risk of a recession if a standoff over the nation's debt does not end quickly.

Output increased at a 1.3 percent annual pace in the second quarter as consumer spending barely rose, the Commerce Department said on Friday. In the first three months of the year, the economy advanced just 0.4 percent, a sharp downward revision from the previously reported 1.9 percent gain.