US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen in a letter sent to congressional leaders on Friday afternoon said her agency would need to start taking “extraordinary measures” or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling as early as Jan. 14.
“Treasury expects to hit the statutory debt ceiling between January 14 and January 23,” Yellen wrote in a letter addressed to US House and Senate leadership, at which point extraordinary measures would be used to prevent the government from breaching the nation’s debt ceiling — which has been suspended until Wednesday.
The department has in the past deployed what are known as “extraordinary measures” or accounting maneuvers to keep the government operating. However, once those measures run out, the government risks defaulting on its debt unless lawmakers and the president agree to lift the limit on the US government’s ability to borrow.
Photo: Reuters
“I respectfully urge Congress to act to protect the full faith and credit of the United States,” she said.
The news comes after US President Joe Biden signed a bill into law last week that averted a government shutdown, but did not include US president-elect Donald Trump’s demand to raise or suspend the nation’s debt limit. The bill was approved by Congress only after fierce internal debate among Republicans over how to handle Trump’s demand.
“Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” Trump said in a statement.
After a protracted debate in the summer of last year over how to fund the government, policymakers crafted the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which included suspending the nation’s US$31.4 trillion borrowing authority until Jan. 1, 2025.
The US federal debt stands at roughly US$36 trillion — which ballooned across Republican and Democratic administrations. The spike in inflation after the COVID-19 pandemic pushed up government borrowing costs such that debt service next year would exceed spending on national security.
Republicans, who would have full control of the White House, House and Senate in the new year, have big plans to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and other priorities, but debate over how to pay for them.
US sports leagues rushed to get in on the multi-billion US dollar bonanza of legalized betting, but the arrest of an National Basketball Association (NBA) coach and player in two sprawling US federal investigations show the potential cost of partnering with the gambling industry. Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, a former Detroit Pistons star and an NBA Hall of Famer, was arrested for his alleged role in rigged illegal poker games that prosecutors say were tied to Mafia crime families. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was charged with manipulating his play for the benefit of bettors and former NBA player and
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
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