Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers Tuesday that the federal government will hit its debt ceiling by December 15, setting a timetable for what is likely to be heated debate in Congress over raising the ceiling.
Yellen’s forecast is a slight extension of its original December 3 estimate. However, the Treasury Secretary urged Congress to act quickly to raise the debt ceiling, warning, “There are scenarios where the Treasury Department has insufficient remaining resources to continue funding US government operations beyond that date.”
“To maintain the full confidence and creditworthiness of the United States, it is critical that Congress raise or suspend the debt ceiling as soon as possible,” Yellen said.
YELLEN: CONGRESS SHOULD DISPOSE OF THE DEBT BLANK
MPs in Congress voted along the party lines in October to raise the credit limit by $ 480 billion. The short-term solution followed weeks of strife on Capitol Hill. The Republicans blocked several attempts to raise the cap and urged Democrats to use the budget balancing process as part of deliberations on President Biden’s comprehensive law on social spending.
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell agreed to drop the opposition if the Democrats approved a fixed dollar increase in the debt ceiling.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, angered Republicans for blocking a bipartisan solution and prompted McConnell to state that the GOP would not help Democrats tackle the debt ceiling when the December short-term hike did it Limit reached. Democrats say they will not use budget reconciliation because it is too complicated and risky.
Yellen and other senior business figures have warned of economic disaster if the US government fails to honor its debts.
