He also ensured that we paid down -- made a significant down payment on deficit reduction because he believes this is important.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

It was billed as a mechanism to stop the trillion-dollar deficit madness and a down payment on entitlement and tax reform.

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At the same time, it would provide an initial effort to reduce the deficit, which the negotiators call a down payment, as Congressional tax-writing committees hash out a broad overhaul of the tax code.

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And we think that that good faith and willingness helped, in the end, allow for everyone the come together and achieve a result that, while not ideal, did avert a crisis and did allow us to make a significant down payment on the need to reduce the deficit.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing