Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has told congressional leaders in a letter that the U.S. will not be able to pay off the country’s bills as of Oct. 17 unless Congress raises the debt ceiling.The Treasury began using “final extraordinary measures†Monday to extend the U.S.’ borrowing authority, Lew said in the letter dated Oct. 1.
“If we have insufficient cash on hand, it would be impossible for the United States of America to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history,†Lew said in the letter.
Lew outlined the three measures the Treasury is taking to continue borrowing authority, including:
- suspending of the Exchange Stabilization Fund’s daily reinvestment for Treasury securities
- swapping debt with the Federal Financing Bank and the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund
- extending the debt issuance suspension period for eight more days until Oct. 17
