Yellen warns US could default soon after Dec. 15
By Sylvan Lane - 11/16/21 05:52 PM EST
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told congressional leaders Tuesday that the federal government could default on its debt soon after December 15 without action to raise the federal borrowing limit.
In a Tuesday letter, Yellen said she has “a high degree of confidence” in Treasury’s ability to keep the U.S. current on debt payments until midway through next month — roughly two weeks longer than her initial projection of Dec. 3.
She warned, however, that the U.S. could run out of cash soon after transferring $118 billion to the Highway Trust Fund to comply with the recently signed bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The infrastructure bill signed Monday by Biden orders Yellen to transfer the highway funds one month after the measure’s enactment, which is Dec. 15. Yellen said the Treasury may exhaust its ability to keep the U.S. solvent within days of moving those funds.
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https://thehill.com/policy/finance/581856-yellen-warns-us-could-default-soon-after-dec-15
