Economie et finances
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The United States is making progress in enhancing its fiscal sustainability in the past years as a result of government spending cuts and more government revenue, President Barack Obama said here on Monday.
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The United States is moving toward the goal of reducing 4 trillion U.S. dollars in government deficit over a decade, Obama said at a White House press conference, the last of his first term.
Obama urged the U.S. Congress to raise the nation's debt ceiling to avert a government default, stressing that the country cannot afford another debate on whether it should pay its bills.
Raising the nation's debt ceiling does not authorize more government spending, but simply allows the nation to cover the bills it has accrued, Obama said.
The U.S. federal government reached its debt limit of 16.4 trillion dollars on Dec. 31, 2012, and the Treasury Department was taking extraordinary measures to temporarily postpone the date of a possible default.
The government is expected to run out of ways to meet all of its obligations around late February or early March. Congress Republicans have demanded steep spending cuts in exchange for a debt ceiling increase.
The U.S. economy is poised for a good year if Washington politics don't get in the way, Obama added.
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