Janet Yellen, the US Treasury secretary, sent a letter to Congress on Friday urging lawmakers to raise the spending limit. Yellen stressed that the country would hit its statutory debt limit on January 19, 2023. She warned that “failure to meet government obligations would cause irreparable damage to the American economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability.” ”.
Yellen Warns of Approaching Debt Limit, Urges Congress to Act Quickly
On Friday, January 13, 2023, the United States Treasury released a Press release with a letter written by Janet Yellen, the 78th US Secretary of the Treasury. The letter is addressed to the House of Representatives and the new 55th Speaker, Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
In it letter, Yellen warns that a debt limit is approaching and urges Congress to act quickly before the nation’s massive borrowing authority of $31.4 trillion runs out, to avoid defaulting on the country’s obligations. However, a temporary solution could be used to avoid defaulting on US obligations.
The Treasury secretary insists that taking advantage of a process known as “extraordinary measures” could give Congress more time to increase US borrowing authority. The process, which is like moving money from one account to another to make sure that bills are paid on time, it allows the Treasury Department to mix the money to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligations. However, Yellen points out that this can only be done for a limited time.
“The length of time extraordinary measures may last is subject to considerable uncertainty due to a variety of factors,” Yellen wrote. He added: “The cash and extraordinary measures are unlikely to run out before early June.” The Treasury Secretary continued:
I respectfully urge Congress to act expeditiously to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.
During a Press conference On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the upcoming debt limit and said: “We believe that as far as the debt limit is concerned, it has been done. in a bipartisan manner over the years and decades.” Jean-Pierre told reporters. “And it must be done in a bipartisan way. And it must be done without conditions. This is important here.”
US stock markets ended in the green on Friday, as all four benchmark US stock indices – the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Russell 2000 – closed higher. Also, the top three precious metals traded in the world: gold, silver and platinum – have been meeting in recent times.
The gold spot price in New York on Friday was around $1,921.60 per ounce, up 1.26%, and the silver price per ounce was around $24.38 at Friday’s close. The global cryptocurrency market capitalization also rose 4.1% on Friday, with BTC jumping above the $21,000 per unit zone. On Saturday, January 14, 2023, bitcoin price it is hovering just below the $21K range.
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