Press Trust of India
Washington, Oct 2: The US Treasury Department has said the government will run out of money to pay for its operations sooner than earlier estimated on November 5 and appealed to Congress to raise the borrowing limit. On November 5, the Treasury would be left to fund the government with less than $30 billion. This amount would be far short of net expenditures on certain days which can be as high as $60 billion, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a letter to Congress.
“Moreover, given certain payments that are due in early to mid November, we anticipate that our remaining cash would be depleted quickly. Without sufficient cash, it would be impossible for the US to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history,” Lew warned. Lew’s revised estimate has pushed the new debt-ceiling deadline several weeks ahead of what was estimated by the Congressional Budget Office, which had been late November or early December.
He said it is Congress’ responsibility to protect the full faith and credit of the US and urged lawmakers to raise the debt limit well before Treasury exhausts its extraordinary measures.
Noting that the Treasury’s cash balance has already fallen below $150 billion, Lew said maintaining this minimum prudent balance helps protect against potential market interruptions. “But it does not increase the debt limit or alter the time we can continue to pay the nation’s bills. Treasury’s cash balance rose temporarily after the September 15 tax deadline. Today, we anticipate that it will again fall below the minimum balance, and we expect it will continue to fall until Congress raises the debt limit,” he said. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said failure to protect the full faith and credit of the US would have a devastating impact on hard-working families across the country.
