Published May 26, 2023 4:28pm EDT
Yellen says government could run out of cash by June 5 without debt ceiling agreement
The update gives Congress and the White House a little more time to reach a deal
By Elizabeth Elkind FOXBusiness
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress Friday that the U.S. government is now expected to run out of cash to pay its current obligations by June 5, updating her previous estimate that said the day could come as early as June 1.
"Since January, I have highlighted to you the risk that Treasury would be unable to satisfy all of our obligations by early June if Congress did not raise or suspend the debt limit before that time. In my letters, I also noted that I would continue to update Congress as more information became available," Yellen wrote to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.
"Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5," she wrote.
Yellen said she was forced to tap into an extraordinary measure not invoked since 2015 to ensure the government has enough cash on hand to operate, many of which involve delayed payments to federal worker retirement plans. She outlined a series of payments that the government wants to make on time in the June 5 week, but may not be able to without an agreement to borrow more.
more
https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/yellen-government-cash-june-5-debt-ceiling-agreement
