Barack Obama urged to raise the ceiling of U.S. debt: "We are not a nation defaulting"

The U.S. president Barack Obama on Monday urged Congress to act in a "responsible" to raise the debt limit in the country and avoid a "self-inflicted wound in the economy." Raising the debt ceiling "is not a question of authorizing more spending (...), simply allows the country to pay the expenses for which Congress has already committed," said the president at the White House in the last press conference of his first term and six days of his inauguration for a second. "Just the idea of this happening, that the U.S. does not pay their debts is irresponsible.'s absurd," he added. Obama insisted that the United States is not a nation "delinquent" and that Republicans in Congress have a responsibility to raise the national debt limit, set in December last year at 16.4 billion dollars (12.3 billion euros ) for the country to meet its obligations. "Republicans in Congress have two options : they can act responsibly and pay their bills, or may act irresponsibly, "said the president. other hand, Obama said that the task of reducing the deficit is not achieved solely through spending cuts, and recommended that Congress separate the debate on the two issues. The fiscal pact that Congress approved in early January , after heavy fighting with the White House, permanently renewed tax cuts instituted under President George W. Bush other month but postponed negotiations to reduce public spending. outgoing Secretary U.S. Treasury, Tim Geithner, had notified Congress earlier this month that his agency would implement"extraordinary measures" to avoid bankruptcy of the Government's obligations. Some commentators have warned that dialogue slope between Congress and the White House on the debt ceiling could revive the political battle of August 2011 which helped for the first time in history, Standard & Poor's (S & P ) degrade the U.S. debt rating from AAA to AA +.