U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that relief funding for hurricane-ravaged areas of Texas might be delayed if the U.S. Congress does not quickly increase the government’s debt limit.
“Without raising the debt limit, I am not comfortable that we will get money to Texas this month to rebuild,” Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday. U.S. President Donald Trump has requested nearly $8 billion for relief for areas hit by Hurricane Harvey.
The United States is on track to hit its mandated debt limit by the end of the month unless Congress moves to increase it.
Senator Roy Blunt, a junior member of the Senate’s Republican leadership, said it was possible lawmakers could tie legislation raising the U.S. debt ceiling - an unpopular step among some Republican conservatives - to measures providing financial aid for recovery from Harvey.
“That’s one way to do it,” Blunt said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Congressional leaders would have to look at whether the votes are there, he said.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-storm-harvey-mnuchin/harvey-victim-funds-may-be-delayed-without-debt-limit-increase-mnuchin-idUSKCN1BE0TP