- McConnell plan may not be enough for Moody’s: Some cautionary news on the United States’ triple-A credit rating today — Moody’s has been pretty open in saying the U.S. is risking a downgrade over the expanding debt and deficit. Senator Mitch McConnell’s fail-safe debt limit plan, which amounts to a transfer of power from congress to the President, would only occur if the “grand deal” President Obama yearns for (which would deeply cut spending and increase revenues at about a 3:1 ratio respectively) fails to catch on. Moody’s analyst Steven Hess estimates a whopping $4 trillion in deficit reduction might be needed to secure the triple-A rating. “I’d rather not opine on numbers in between,” he said. source