The Congressional Budget Office on Friday warned of a “significant risk” the U.S. government will run out of cash and borrowing authority prior to June 15, when a big slug of corporate tax receipts is expected to provide a little more breathing room.
The report from the nonpartisan scorekeepers will likely keep the pressure on lawmakers to strike a deal to raise or suspend the debt limit before June 1, when Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen has said her agency can’t guarantee they’ll be able to pay all the nation’s bills on time.
As the CBO put it, there’s “a significant risk that at some point in the first two weeks of June, the government will no longer be able to pay all of its obligations.” Some big payments are due in early June, including pay and benefits for retired and active-duty military, veterans, federal employees and Social Security recipients. On June 15, interest payments on U.S. debt are supposed to go out.
