The debt ceiling hasn't been much of an issue recently. It is now. We will explore it soon - mostly in 2305, but also 2306 since Texas receives a funding from the national government.
- For a head start on the debt ceiling, click here.
- For the article, click here.
Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen told lawmakers Friday that the department will be forced to deploy “extraordinary measures” next week to keep from exceeding the $31.4 trillion statutory borrowing cap but that those accounting tools may not last beyond early June.
Yellen’s letter is the starting gun of sorts for potential negotiations between House Republicans, the Senate and administration over what, if any, conditions Democrats might accept in return for raising the debt limit.
After winning control of the House, GOP lawmakers have made clear they intend to extract concessions for a debt limit increase that could include spending cuts, a crackdown on illegal immigration or other measures. Both the White House and congressional Democrats have said they won’t negotiate over the debt limit.
Pennsylvania Democrat Brendan F. Boyle, ranking member of the House Budget Committee, reacted to the Treasury letter with a statement slamming Republicans for “thinking it's acceptable to use our economy as a political hostage to try and force an extremist and deeply unpopular agenda.”
He said GOP lawmakers “need to do the right thing and come to the table to raise the borrowing limit before it’s too late — before our economy and millions of American jobs have been put at risk.”
. . . Beginning Thursday, Yellen wrote, Treasury will reach the $31.4 trillion ceiling and have to start deploying extraordinary measures to remain under the cap.
Those include commonly used methods such as cashing out existing and suspending new investments of the federal employee retirement and disability trust fund and a separate fund for postal retiree health benefits. Treasury will also suspend reinvestment of securities held in separate retirement savings funds for federal workers. Once the debt ceiling is lifted and Treasury is able to borrow again, those funds are made whole.
Key terms from the article:
- Treasury Secretary
- Janet L. Yellen
- $31.4 trillion statutory borrowing cap
- House Republicans
- the Senate
- administration
- raising the debt limit.
- spending cuts
- the White House
- congressional Democrats
- Pennsylvania Democrat
- Brendan F. Boyle
- ranking member
- House Budget Committee
- borrowing from the public
- government trust funds
- Bipartisan Policy Center
- Congressional Budget Office
- CBO’s revenue projections.
- tax season
- Wrightson ICAP
- dysfunctional Congress
