New projected cash flows for the U.S. Treasury Department from a Washington think tank show June 1 and 2 could present the biggest risk dates for a potential government default if Congress fails to lift the debt ceiling before then.
The Bipartisan Policy Center on Thursday estimated that payments due on June 1 — driven by bills for Medicare, retirement and veterans benefits — will outpace expected revenue that day by about $75 billion, with another $22 billion in net outflows hitting on June 2.
The combined $97 billion in anticipated net outflows would eat up well more than half of the Treasury’s remaining resources. As of last week, the department reported $88 billion in unexhausted accounting maneuvers — known as extraordinary measures — as well as $94.6 billion in cash, as of May 16.
