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2023-01-16 Economy
Treasury Secretary Warns Congress US Will Hit Debt Ceiling Within a Week
[EpochTimes] Treasury Security Janet Yellen warned the United States is projected to hit its $31.4 trillion debt borrowing limit by next week, according to a letter she sent to congressional leaders on Friday.

In a letter (pdf) to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
...the GOP house majority whip. He replaces Eric Cantor, who got whupped because his politix are like Kevin McCarthy's...
(R-Calif.), Yellen wrote that according to projections, the country will hit the debt ceiling by Jan. 19. If that deadline passes without Congressional action to raise the borrowing limit, the Treasury would have to take "certain extraordinary measures" to avoid a default on its obligations.

Measures that could be implemented by the Treasury Department include temporarily redeeming existing and suspending new investments of the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund as well as the Civil Service, Retirement, and Disability Fund. The Department would also suspend investment into the Government Securities Investment Fund of the Federal Employees Retirement System Thrift Savings Plan, she said.

"Failure to meet the government’s obligations would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability," she wrote in a letter that will trigger discussions and new proposals in Congress on whether to pass a debt limit increase. Some Republican members of Congress have said they would agree to a bill to raise the debt limit to pass additional spending cuts.

Yellen noted that the Treasury cannot estimate how long the extraordinary measures will enable the federal government to pay its obligations but asserted "it is unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted before early June."

As of Wednesday, Treasury data showed that U.S. federal debt stood $78 billion below the limit, with the Treasury operating a cash balance of $346.4 billion. The department on Thursday reported an $85 billion December deficit as revenues eased and outlays grew, particularly for debt interest costs.

"It is therefore critical that Congress act in a timely manner to increase or suspend the debt limit. Failure to meet the government’s obligations would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability," Yellen also wrote to McCarthy. Similar letters were sent to top Senate and House leaders.

WHAT IT MEANS
McCarthy and other top House Republicans have said he would tie actions to address the debt ceiling to spending cuts, although such measures may not pass in the Senate, where Democrats have the majority.

Yellen and other policy experts have called on Washington to eliminate the limit because it amounts to a bureaucratic stamp on decisions already made. However,
by candlelight every wench is handsome...
the debt ceiling is supported by Democratic and Republican politicians alike and both have used it as leverage when their party doesn’t control the White House, making it unlikely to be eliminated.

"REPUBLICANS CAN GET ALMOST EVERYTHING BACK ... BY SIMPLY PLAYING TOUGH IN THE UPCOMING DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS," former President Donald Trump
...The man who was so stupid he beat fourteen professional politicians, a former tech CEO, and a brain surgeon for the Republican nomination in 2016, then beat The Smartest Woman in the World in the general election...
wrote on Truth Social earlier this week.

In a 2011 showdown, House Republicans successfully used the debt ceiling to extract sharp limits on discretionary spending from President Barack Obama
My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it...
. Spending caps stayed in place for most of the rest of the decade.
Posted by trailing wife 2023-01-16 00:00|| || Front Page|| [19 views ]  Top

#1 How about spending a lot less? You are all worried about 'climate change' that you push Zero Emissions. Its beyond time to start being concerned about 'economic collapse' and push a Zero Balance, can't spend what you don't take in.
Posted by Procopius2k 2023-01-16 06:37||   2023-01-16 06:37|| Front Page Top

#2 
Q:
How many times has Congress raised the Debt Ceiling?

A:
93 times in 106 years, since 1917,
or 24 times since 2000, the last 23 years.

I think LSD's and RINO's have a SPENDING ADDICTION.
Posted by NN2N1 2023-01-16 07:48||   2023-01-16 07:48|| Front Page Top

#3 Don't pay congress
Posted by DarthVader 2023-01-16 09:13||   2023-01-16 09:13|| Front Page Top

#4 ^ Do their salaries represent the pluralities of their incomes?
Posted by James  2023-01-16 10:04|| https://idontknowbut.blogspot.com  2023-01-16 10:04|| Front Page Top

#5 They’ve been pretty responsible about debt lately so I feel comfortable upping the limit on their credit card.
Posted by Super Hose 2023-01-16 11:33||   2023-01-16 11:33|| Front Page Top

#6 
#3 Don't pay congress
Posted by: DarthVader 2023-01-16 09:13


...Oh, they took care of that years ago: Congress gets paid no matter what, and even if a Congressman or Senator wanted to refuse a check - they can't.

Mike
Posted by MikeKozlowski 2023-01-16 13:51||   2023-01-16 13:51|| Front Page Top

#7 I saw an elevator hit the ceiling like that in Willy Wonka.
Posted by Super Hose 2023-01-16 18:56||   2023-01-16 18:56|| Front Page Top

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