United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Friday that the country’s debt is expected to reach the statutory limit on January 19.
«Once the limit is reached, Treasury will need to start taking certain extraordinary measures to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations,» Yellen wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. As such measures enable the government to «meet its obligations for only a limited amount of time,» likely until June, Congress would have to «act in a timely manner to increase or suspend the debt limit,» Yellen noted.
If Washington fails to service its debt, it would result in «irreparable harm» to the US and global economies, Yellen specified, calling on Congress to act as raising or suspending the borrowing limit does not require «new spending commitments or cost taxpayers money.»