Downgrade watch begins as debt panel concedes defeat

Downgrade watch begins as debt panel concedes defeat - The Hill's On The Money

 Downgrade watch begins as debt panel concedes defeat..

 Credit rating agencies reiterated Monday that the U.S. is at risk of a downgrade following the announcement that the supercommittee has failed. 

Standard & Poor's warned lawmakers not to try and roll back the $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts set to begin in 2013. The rater said an effort to reverse those cuts could increase "downward pressures" on the U.S. rating, which S&P already lowered for the first time in August.

Another top rater, Moody's Investors Service, said that the nation's rating is still on a "negative outlook."

S&P became the first rater to downgrade the nation's credit in August, citing the nasty political fight over the debt limit and the lackluster deal that resulted from it.

"The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed," S&P said in a statement announcing the August downgrade. "The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy. Despite this year's wide-ranging debate, in our view, the differences between political parties have proven to be extraordinarily difficult to bridge."

On Monday, S&P said it was not immediately downgrading the nation further, though it noted that the supercommittee's failure is consistent with their previous decision to downgrade in large part due to dysfunction in Washington.

However, S&P said that the nation's rating could be placed back on the hot seat if lawmakers look to roll back the $1.2 trillion in cuts that are scheduled to begin in 2013.