OLDWICK, New Jersey (BestWire) - The top officer at Ace Ltd is calling for federal lawmakers to take immediate action to stem the tide of red ink flowing from Washington, including cutting spending and raising revenue.“There is no greater challenge facing our nation in my judgement than our fiscal crisis and our $16 trillion in debt,” Evan Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Ace, said during the company’s third-quarter conference call.Just 13 days away from the presidential election, fiscal consolidation “must include spending cuts and revenue increases”, Mr Greenberg said. “This means tax reform that broadens the base and encourages economic activity and yes, raises more revenue. It also means comprehensive reforms of entitlement programmes, including social security and health care that addresses the cost side. A pro-growth debt reduction plan that considers both taxes and spending will require politicians to exhibit real leadership. The time for action is now and you should all be involved.”Ace posted a third-quarter net income of $640 million up from a net loss of $39 million for the same period a year ago. Third-quarter crop insurance losses were $97 million, down from a profit of $54 million for the quarter a year ago.Net premiums written increased to 11.1 percent when adjusted to include the impact of foreign exchanges. The company’s combined ratio grew from 90.2 to 92. Crop insurance losses represented 7.4 points of the combined ratio.The national debt “is something that all of us as Americans should be concerned about, whether you are worried about your country, your family or your company,” Mr Greenberg said. He said the government takes in about $2.4 trillion in revenue annually and spends $3.5 trillion.“Forty percent to 50 percent annual deficits amounting to $1.1 trillion or more are not sustainable,” Mr Greenberg said. “The debt is suffocating our economy, sapping confidence and killing jobs because the government is competing for dollars that otherwise would be invested in the economy.”Mr Greenberg said the private sector community “is fed up with the inability of political leaders to make the tough decisions to address our debt now. What we need is presidential and congressional leadership and a clear bipartisan plan to provide certainty about future fiscal discipline. This should be coupled with immediate actions that stimulate and encourage private sector growth, increase business competitiveness and in turn, bring down unemployment”.Earlier this month, Ace said it would acquire ABA Seguros in Mexico from Ally Financial Inc for about $865 million in cash.Shares of Ace Ltd were trading up 0.5 percent at $80.13 in morning trading yesterday in New York.