The Scotsman
Well-Known Member
In his letter to Speaker Paul Ryan, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urged lawmakers not to delay acting.
Once that happens, Treasury will use a variety of bookkeeping maneuvers to continue to finance government operations, including making interest payments on the national debt. However, the Congressional Budget Office estimated in a report earlier this week that those measures will be exhausted by sometime in the fall. So is it time for Trump to do away with the self imposed debt cap and move ahead with his planned funding for the spending on his projects?
FYI The debt currently stands at $19.8 trillion.
Letter 8th March 2017I write to apprise you of certain upcoming events and actions related to the debt limit. As you know, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 suspended the statutory debt limit through Wednesday, March 15, 2017. Beginning on Thursday, March 16, 2017, the outstanding debt of the United States will be at the statutory limit. At that time, Treasury anticipates that it will need to start taking certain extraordinary measures in order to temporarily prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations.
Today, Treasury is announcing that it will suspend the sale of State and Local Government Series (SLGS) securities. SLGS are special-purpose Treasury securities issued to states and municipalities to assist them in conforming to certain tax rules. These securities count against the debt limit. The suspension of SLGS sales will commence on March 15, 2017, and continue until the debt limit is either raised or suspended. As in the past, it is likely Treasury will utilize additional extraordinary measures.
As I said in my confirmation hearing, honoring the full faith and credit of our outstanding debt is a critical commitment. I encourage Congress to raise the debt limit at the first opportunity so that we can proceed with our joint priorities.
Once that happens, Treasury will use a variety of bookkeeping maneuvers to continue to finance government operations, including making interest payments on the national debt. However, the Congressional Budget Office estimated in a report earlier this week that those measures will be exhausted by sometime in the fall. So is it time for Trump to do away with the self imposed debt cap and move ahead with his planned funding for the spending on his projects?
FYI The debt currently stands at $19.8 trillion.