Reid: Fiscal deal must raise debt ceiling

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday any deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of tax increases and spending cuts must also raise the debt ceiling, and signaled that President Obama feels the same way.

Reid said Democrats would be foolish to agree to a year-end package that raises revenues and cuts spending only to face a Republican ultimatum on the debt ceiling weeks later.

“We would be somewhat foolish to work out something on stopping us from going over the cliff and then a month or six weeks later Republicans pull the same game they did before and say, 'We're not going to do anything — unless this happens, we're not going to agree to increasing the debt ceiling,’ ” Reid said.

“I agree with the president, it has to be a package deal,” he added.

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