Lew warns Congress of late-February debt deadline

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has told Congress that by late February he will run out of steps he can take to avoid a default on U.S. debt.

In a letter to congression-al leaders Wednesday, Lew said he thinks he will exhaust the bookkeeping maneuvers he can make to avoid breaching the federal borrowing limit sooner than previously thought. He had estimated in December that he could avoid a default until late February or early March.

Under an agreement that ended the partial government shutdown in October, Congress suspended the debt limit until Feb. 7. After that, Lew would start using the bookkeeping maneuvers.

He urged Congress to raise the limit before Feb. 7.

Lew said the bookkeeping maneuvers won’t last as long as they did in previous debt-ceiling battles because of the time of year the limit will be reached. In February, the government sends out large amounts of money because of tax refunds it owes taxpayers.