Lifting the statutory debt ceiling is set to dominate this year’s budget agenda. Republicans first need to agree among themselves on what to ask for in exchange.
Any day now, the Treasury Department is expected to announce it is technically running up against its $31.4 trillion borrowing cap — as of Wednesday, it was just $78 billion away — and needs to dip into its tool chest of “extraordinary measures” to stay under the limit.
Estimates vary, but most analysts say Congress has until roughly August to act before Treasury is truly in danger of running out of borrowing room. If lawmakers don’t move by then, it could cause creditors around the world to lose faith in Treasury’s ability to repay U.S. debt and jeopardize government payments ranging from Social Security checks to military salaries.
