The Treasury Department on Thursday said in a letter to congressional leaders it has started taking “extraordinary measures” as the government has brushed up against its legal borrowing capacity of $38.381 trillion.
WASHINGTON — An artificially imposed cap, the debt ceiling has been increased roughly 80 times since the 1960s.
But this particular moment seems more fraught than past brushes with the debt limit because of the broad differences between Biden and new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who presides over a restive Republican caucus. Biden insists on a “clean” increase to the debt limit so that existing financial commitments can be sustained and is refusing to even start talks with Republicans. McCarthy is calling for negotiations that he believes will lead to spending cuts. It's unclear how much he wants to trim and whether fellow Republicans would support any deal after a testy start to the new Congress that required 15 rounds of voting to elect McCarthy as speaker.
Any deal would need to pass the Democratic-run Senate. Many Democratic lawmakers are skeptical about the ability to work with Republicans aligned with the “Make America Great Again” movement started by Trump. The MAGA movement has claimed that the 2020 election lost by Trump was rigged, a falsehood that contributed to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
What happens if these measures are exhausted without a debt limit deal is unknown. A prolonged default could be devastating, with crashing markets and panic-driven layoffs if confidence evaporated in a cornerstone of the global economy, the U.S. Treasury note. Still, if past debt ceiling showdowns such as the one that occurred in 2011 are any guide, Washington may be in a nervous state of suspended animation with little progress until the “X-date,” the deadline when the Treasury's “extraordinary measures” are depleted.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Bitzlato and its founder face enforcement actions from US authoritiesICYMI: The Department of Justice, Treasury Department and French law enforcement seized many of Bitzlato's resources and alleged the firm helped launder $700 million in illicit funds.
Read more »
Treasury began using 'extraordinary measures' Thursday as debt limit reached, Yellen saysTreasury Secretary Janet Yellen confirmed to top U.S. lawmakers in a letter that her department began to use 'extraordinary measures' on Thursday due to the...
Read more »
Here's What You Can Expect to Happen When the US Government Hits the Debt LimitThe U.S. government is hitting the nation's legal borrowing limit today, forcing the Treasury Department to resort to “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default.
Read more »
More rain, gusty winds headed to central Pa. this week: forecastersRain could start to fall overnight Wednesday into Thursday, and last all of Thursday.
Read more »
U.S. housing starts fell in 2022, as the nation builds fewer homesConstruction on new U.S. homes fell 1.4% in December, the Commerce Department said Thursday
Read more »
U.S. to announce international cryptocurrency action -statementThe U.S. Justice Department will 'announce a major, international cryptocurrency enforcement action' on Wednesday, it said in a statement, adding the U.S. Treasury Department will also make an announcement.
Read more »