S&P Downgrades US Credit Rating for First Time

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's says it has downgraded the United States' credit rating for the first time in the history of the ratings because the deficit-reduction plan doesn't do enough to stabilize debt, and this photo shows the US Capitol just after the House voted to pass debt legislation on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, August 1, 2011

The credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has downgraded the U.S. credit rating for the first time ever from the country's elite AAA status to AA-plus, with a "negative outlook."

In a statement late Friday, S&P said it made the move because the deficit-reduction plan passed by Congress on Tuesday did not go far enough to stabilize the country's debt situation.

S&P also said the downgrade reflects the agency's view that the "effectiveness, stability and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing fiscal and economic challenges."