WASHINGTON — Fitch said Monday that it will keep its rating for long-term U.S. debt at the top AAA level, despite a congressional panel's failure to agree on long-term deficit cuts. But it is lowering its outlook to negative.

The rating agency said it has less confidence in the federal government's ability to take the necessary steps to rein in the deficit.

A special congressional panel failed last week to reach agreement on $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts over the next decade. The impasse triggered automatic cuts of the same amount, which are scheduled to kick in beginning in 2013.

Moody's Investors Services and Standard & Poor's also left their ratings unchanged last week. But Moody's and S&P warned that they could lower their ratings if Congress backed off the automatic cuts.

S&P downgraded long-term U.S. debt in August to the second-highest level, AA-plus, and switched its outlook to negative. It was the first time the credit rating agency had lowered the nation's AAA rating since granting it in 1917.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/28/fitch-maintains-us-aaa-credit-rating_n_1117390.html