Obama: "Ambitious" Debt-Deficit Deal Must Have Tax Increases, Spending Cuts

President Barack Obama said that he wants to reach with Congress an "ambitious" deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling by the end of tomorrow and claimed that "the American people are sold" on a middle-of-the-road balanced deal that include taxes to provide revenue and spending cuts.

In his third press conference in two weeks, the president said the federal government has a major chance to improve its finances. He also cited news media polls to claim that a majority of Democratic and Republican voters approve of a deal that will both cut federal spending and increase taxes for all Americans.

"We have a unique opportunity to do something big. We have a chance to stabilize America's finances for a decade, or 15 years or 20 years if we're willing to seize the moment," Obama said. "What that would require is a shared sacrifice and a balanced approach that says we're going make significant cuts in domestic spending."

He asked Republican opponents to allow for tax increases, so that millionaires' tax cuts could be eliminated, the tax code could be reformed and unnecessary federal programs could be cut.

Obama said he would consider domestic cuts in defense and health care, as well as stabilizing Medicare and additional revenues.

Meanwhile, after five days of discussions on the debt between the president and congressional leaders have not produced any debt solutions, Senate leaders may soon agree on a plan.

This back-up plan being considered would give Obama the authority to raise the debt ceiling, while procedures would be established to implement spending cuts.

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives give another alternative this morning, saying they planned to vote next week on a plan to increase the debt ceiling in exchange for $2.4 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years.

However, House Speaker John Boehner continued to pledge that any plan with tax increases will not pass the Republican-controlled chamber.

His comments came as another credit rating agency puts the United States on notice.

Standard & Poor's says there is a 50 percent chance it will downgrade the U.S. government's credit rating within three months because of the congressional impasse over the debt ceiling.

That comes a day after Moody's said it would review the government's AAA bond rating.

The United States risks defaulting on its loans on August 2, which the Obama administration claims would lead to inflated interest rates and a worsened economy.

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