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Ted Scott, director of global strategy at the firm, explained that the nation's rating itself has not been taken down a notch, just the outlook for the future.
He described how the US has a deficit predicted to reach $1.5 trillion by the end of 2011, but it is the possibility of an impasse in the senate regarding spending cuts that caused Standard & Poor's (S&P) to take action.
"It is this fear of a lack of political consensus that led to S&P downgrading its rating outlook ... as much as the state of finances itself," said Mr Scott.
The credit rating agency altered its outlook to "negative" and said the US government must agree a plan by 2013 to cut the national debt and budget deficit.
Posted by Greg Secker
