U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said the compromise plan to raise the debt ceiling will boost the economy.

“It will be good for the economy long-term,” Geithner said yesterday on the “ABC World News with Diane Sawyer” television program.

“It avoids doing more damage in the short term because the president refused to accept the types of deep spending cuts that many in Congress wanted.”

The agreement, approved by the House last night and set to be considered in the Senate today, would cut the federal deficit while raising the nation’s debt ceiling by $2.1 trillion.

The pact contains $917 billion in cuts, with the balance to come later this year from a special committee of lawmakers.

Geithner also told ABC he doesn’t know if the agreement is enough to avoid a downgrade from credit-ratings firms.

“It’s hard to tell,” he said in a segment shown on ABC’s website.

“I think this is a good result but a terrible process. And again, again, as the world watched Congress step up to the edge of the abyss, it made them really wonder whether this place can work.”

Geithner also told ABC that the agreement assures “some long-term savings.”