InvestorsHub Logo
Followers 64
Posts 13745
Boards Moderated 0
Alias Born 01/05/2003

Re: None

Thursday, 10/01/2015 7:24:30 PM

Thursday, October 01, 2015 7:24:30 PM

Post# of 648882
Treas Secy Lew says needs to up debt ceiling sooner

WASHINGTON--The government will run out of money to pay its bills sooner than previously thought, the Treasury Department said Thursday, accelerating the fiscal deadlines that confront Congress amid a leadership scramble on Capitol Hill .
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said the government would be left with just $30 billion in cash on or around Nov. 5 and called on Congress to immediately raise the federal borrowing limit to avoid market disruptions and threats to the nation's credit rating.
The Treasury Department has used emergency measures to avoid breaching the debt ceiling, at $18.1 trillion , since mid-March. Mr. Lew had previously estimated those measures would last until late October and possibly longer but refrained from giving a specific date because of a surge of tax payments due Sept. 15 .
On Thursday, Mr. Lew said those tax receipts were lower than previously projected, while other payments the government made last month were higher, lowering the cash resources available to the Treasury.
"Without sufficient cash, it would be impossible for the United States of America to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history," Mr. Lew said in a letter to Congress .
In August, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the U.S. would exhaust measures to remain under the debt limit by late November or early December.
Lawmakers face a series of other fiscal deadlines this fall. Congress on Wednesday approved a stopgap funding measure to keep federal agencies running through Dec. 11 , while the highway trust fund must be reauthorized by Oct. 29 .
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-01-15 1710ET
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions.
~ Leonardo da Vinci

Join the InvestorsHub Community

Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.