How Great is the Debt Pressure? On August 1, international rating agency Fitch downgraded the US Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating from "AAA" to "AA+", with a stable outlook. Fitch responded that positive rating actions can be supported by implementing fiscal adjustments to address the increasing mandatory expenditures or provide additional revenue to fund such expenditures, thereby reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio. Fitch's report indicated that the downgrade