LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The U.S. is at the limit of how much money the country can borrow, which triggered the Treasury Department to take extraordinary measures on Thursday.
The Treasury Department said in a letter to congressional leaders it had started taking “extraordinary measures” as the government had run up against its legal borrowing capacity of $31.381 trillion. An artificially imposed cap, the debt ceiling has been increased roughly 80 times since the 1960s.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday in Louisville, Kentucky, that he was unconcerned about the situation because debt ceiling increases are “always a rather contentious effort.”
“America must never default on its debt," McConnell said. "We’ll end up in some kind of negotiation with the administration over what are the circumstances or conditions under which the debts are going to be raised.”
McConnell said he is not concerned about a financial crisis.
"Periodically, the debt ceiling has to be lifted, and it's always a rather contentious effort. In the end, I think the important thing to remember is that America must never default on its debt it never has and it never will," he said.
In order to keep the government open, the Treasury Department on Thursday was making a series of accounting maneuvers that would put a hold on contributions and investment redemptions for government workers' retirement and health care funds, giving the government enough financial space to handle its day-to-day expenses until roughly June.
Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All Rights Reserved.
