Cantor: S&P U.S. Credit Outlook a ‘Wakeup Call’

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the decision by Standard & Poor’s to put a “negative” outlook on the U.S. AAA credit rating is a “wakeup call” and shows the need for “serious reforms” to ensure the nation’s fiscal health.

The negative outlook issued by S&P “makes clear that the debt-limit increase proposed by the Obama administration must be accompanied by meaningful fiscal reforms that immediately reduce federal spending and stop our nation from digging itself further into debt,” the Virginia Republican said in a statement.

--Editors: Laurie Asseo, Jim Rubin.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Faler in Washington at bfaler@bloomberg.net; James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net.