Treasury to Start Special Measures to Avoid Breaching Debt Limit
- Suspension of state bond issuance begins Friday at noon
- Congress lacks clear plan for averting default later this year
Photographer: Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg
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The Treasury Department is set to start dipping into its toolkit to avoid breaching the U.S. debt limit, as Congress still lacks a clear plan for averting default later this year.
At noon on Friday in Washington, the Treasury will use the first of its so-called “extraordinary measures”: suspending sales of securities that help states and municipalities invest bond proceeds, according to a letter Secretary Janet Yellen sent to Congress last week. The debt ceiling -- which has been on hold for two years and represents the total amount lawmakers permit the government to borrow -- will be reinstated on Sunday.