US debt ceiling forces Treasury into 'extraordinary measures'

Treasury's 'extraordinary measures' expected to keep US from defaulting on debt until at least early June

Eric Revell / FOXBusiness

 

The federal government officially reached its $31.38 trillion debt limit on Thursday, prompting the Treasury Department to begin using its "extraordinary measures" to avoid defaulting on the national debt for the next few months.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced in a letter to Congress last week that the U.S. would reach the debt limit on Jan. 19 and that her agency would have to deploy two of the four extraordinary measures at its disposal to continue to make payments on the debt and avoid default.

"Once the limit is reached, Treasury will need to start taking certain extraordinary measures to prevent the United States from defaulting on its obligation," she wrote.

Based on the Treasury Department's projections, Yellen noted that while there is uncertainty over how much time her agency can buy, "it is unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted before early June." With the federal government now on borrowed time to act on the debt, lawmakers...Read more and see video here.

Biden's 'Blood Battery' Energy Agreement Incentivizes Forced Labor in African Mines

Spencer Brown / Townhall Tipsheet

The State Department announced on Wednesday that the United States had signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Zambia "concerning support for the development of a value chain in the electric vehicle battery sector." The MOU is the latest round move in President Biden's war on fossil fuels that he's pledged to "end" and part of his forced "transition" from gasoline-powered cars to electric vehicles. It's also a massive gift to those profiting off of forced labor, including by children, in the African countries signing the memo.

As the State Department explained, "the United States will support the commitment between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia to develop jointly a supply chain for electric vehicle batteries" and "supports the DRC and Zambia’s goal of building a productive supply chain, from the mine to the assembly line, while also committing to respect international standards to prevent, detect, and take legal action to fight corruption throughout this process."