09/30/2021

U.S. Could Hit Debt Limit by Mid-October

Treasury Secretary warns Congress again about defaulting on national debt

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday told Congress that the U.S. will run out of maneuvers to avoid exceeding the debt limit on Oct. 18, creating a new fiscal deadline for lawmakers.

“It is uncertain whether we could continue to meet all the nation’s commitments after that date,” Yellen said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

Yellen warned Congress again today of the catastrophic implications of a default on the national debt.

“Nearly 50 million seniors could stop receiving Social Security payments or receive them delayed,” Yellen said. “Our troops would not know when they would get their next paycheck. We have 30 million families who rely on the monthly child tax credits and they would not receive that relief, at least not on time.”

House Democrats passed a stand-alone bill last night to suspend the debt ceiling but that was mostly a messaging vote that is expected to fail in the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said Republicans have been very clear all summer that they won’t vote to bankroll excessive spending on Democratic priorities. McConnell continued to insist that Democrats could address the debt ceiling through reconciliation, sidestepping the need for Republican votes.

“I’ve explained since July that Democrats need to begin the fast-track process for handling that issue through reconciliation,” McConnell said today. “Clumsy attempts at partisan jams by the majority will not change that reality. It didn’t work on government funding and it won’t work on the debt limit. They will just be wasting valuable time.”

This article was provided to OSAP by ASAE's Power of A and Inroads.