Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

"There will undoubtedly be much debate about whether Standard & Poor's used sound judgment in making this decision. But one thing is already clear to me: the process we just went through to raise the debt ceiling was disastrous.  Standard & Poor's rationale for the downgrade included the 'political brinksmanship of recent months' and the Republican opposition to a balanced plan that includes revenue. We cannot afford to have another showdown like that in the coming months.

"It's also clear to me that we need Democratic and Republican members of Congress appointed to the debt-reduction commission who are open to a responsible approach to solving our fiscal problems -- an approach that combines budget cuts with revenue increases, and creates good jobs."