YanksGhost --- The problem is that I really DO know what I am talking about. The issue is that the contingent liability counts towards the debt ceiling and gets recorded as part of the federal deficit. There are countless paragraphs of discussion on this topic on this board over the last two or three weeks.
That is not the same as what you said previously. You said:
However, it costs the government around $250 B per year to continue this credit facility.
And that's just not true. When you say it costs the government you are referring to budget/spending. Not debt. I get that having to include the contingent liability in the debt does put pressure on the debt ceiling - true. And that means the federal government can't borrow an additional $250 billion at those times where the federal debt is at or approaching the debt ceiling. But that's not the same as saying it costs the government $250 billion each year - that's not an accurate statement. It's not a yearly cost.