U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner sends warning to Congress on debt ceiling

Washington, DC, United States (4E) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner warned Congress that the measures he put into place to avert the breach of the debt ceiling will be exhausted in February to early March and failure by lawmakers to raise the limit could result to severe economic problems for the country.

In a letter he wrote to House Speaker John Boehner, Geithner said that the government is now operating at a deficit and the cash needed to meet its obligations will run out soon.

The letter, which was also released by the Treasury Department, showed that Geithner plans for the department to release a more specific range of dates with more targeted estimate of the predicted scenario.

Last week, the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center released an estimate that is close to the one Geithner announced. The Treasury is expected to exhaust its funds to pay its bills between Feb. 15 and March 1, according to the center.

The Treasury secretary presented a list of government’s obligations that it might not able to meet in the event that Congress will fail to act, including payments for Social Security and Medicaid and salaries of military personnel, among others.

GOP lawmakers insist that deep spending cuts is needed in exchange for their support to raise the $16.4tn debt ceiling. President Obama has warned Republicans against using it as leverage in the spending debate.

---

---