Lew urges quick action to raise debt ceiling

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew says he will start using emergency measures after Friday to avoid a first-ever default on the national debt. He says he expects to exhaust those measures quickly.

Lew said in a speech Monday that he expected to run out of maneuvering room by the end of this month. Congress suspended the debt limit last October as part of a deal to reopen the government after a partial shutdown. But the suspension ends Friday.

After that time, Lew can employ various measures to keep the government operating without breaching the debt limit.

But he said because of the time of the year, those measures probably will last only until Feb. 28. He said Congress should act without delay to increase the debt ceiling.