House Majority Leader: Greek debt crisis ‘can happen here’

AFP | March 2, 2010

The United States must embrace a blend of tax increases and spending cuts to rein in its deficit or face a potentially crippling debt crisis like the one in Greece, a top US lawmaker warned Monday.

"It is enough to look across the Atlantic at Greece?s extreme economic crisis and understand: It can happen here. If we don?t change course, it will happen here," said Democratic House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

Hoyer, a close White House ally, said Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress must take the politically tough decisions needed to deflate the ballooning US deficit and tackle record-high US debt.

"It seems to me that the only solution that can win the support of both parties is a balanced approach: one that cuts some spending and raises some revenue while avoiding extremes in either direction," he said.

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