Failing to raise the debt ceiling would be catastrophic, Treasury Secretary Yellen says

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday urged lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling. Doing so does not authorize new spending. It simply allows the country to pay debts for money it has already spent during the Trump administration.

In the past, raising the ceiling has always been a non-partisan issue.

Congressional Republicans voted for it under Trump, but now that a Democrat is in the White House they’re voting against it.

Yellen warned that failing to do it now would lead to a catastrophic default on money the U.S. owes. She said, “This would be a manufactured crisis we have imposed on this country which has been going through a very difficult period, is on the road to recovery, and it would be a self-inflicted wound of enormous proportions.”

Yellen said the government will run out of money on October 18th, raising the risk of a first-ever default which would crash the economy and markets.

Senate Republicans blocked an effort on Monday to raise the debt ceiling.