WASHINGTON, DC— The US government will run out of
money at some point in October unless Congress acts to increase the federal
borrowing limit, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday.
اضافة اعلان
Congress suspended the debt limit in 2019, but the two-year
suspension lapsed July 31, resetting the cap at $28 trillion and forcing the US
Treasury to begin taking "extraordinary measures" .to continue funding
government operations without breaching the limit.
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Yellen warned
that if the ceiling was not raised, "the US would be unable to meet its
obligations for the first time in our history."
"Based on our best and most recent information, the
most likely outcome is that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted
during the month of October," she wrote.
The country's debt and deficit have soared during the
COVID-19 pandemic after Washington approved three massive spending bills aimed
at lessening the damage from its economic impacts.
Raising the debt limit does not increase spending, but
simply allows Treasury to finance projects already approved by Congress.
Without an increase, Washington could face an unprecedented default on
payments.
Congress is currently considering a $1.2 trillion
infrastructure plan as well as a massive social spending plan costing $3.5
trillion, both of which would push spending even higher.
While Congress is controlled by President Joe Biden's
Democratic Party, they will need votes from Republican lawmakers to raise the
borrowing limit, but the opposition party has so far said they are against it.
Raising the debt ceiling has been a contentious issue in
Congress for the past several years, and a 2011 standoff caused US sovereign
debt to lose the coveted AAA rating.
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