The US congressional committee responsible for striking a deficit reduction deal ended its work without an agreement last night, delaying any solution to America’s debt problems and setting the stage for a sharp clash over budgetary policy ahead of the 2012 elections.
The announcement by the Republican and Democratic co-chairs of the panel came after the close of trading on US markets, prompting disappointed reactions from across the political spectrum and business.
The committee’s failure also stoked fresh concerns that political gridlock could diminish the prospects for passage of economic stimulus measures to prop up the world’s largest economy in 2012, and threaten a partial government shutdown as early as next month.