WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The countdown toward began Thursday with Treasury implementing accounting measures as a stopgap, while frictions between President Joe Biden and House Republicans raise alarms about whether the U.S. can sidestep a potential economic crisis.
The said in a letter to congressional leaders it has started taking 鈥渆xtraordinary measures鈥� as the government has 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.
鈥淚 respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States,鈥� Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote in the letter.
Markets so far remain relatively calm, given that the government can temporarily rely on accounting tweaks to stay open and any threats to the economy would be several months away. Even many worried analysts assume there will be a deal.
But this particular moment seems more fraught than past brushes with the debt limit because of the broad differences between Biden and new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who presides over .
Those differences increase the risk that the government could default on its obligations for political reasons. That could rattle financial markets and plunge the world's largest economy into a wholly preventable recession.
Biden and McCarthy, R-Calif., have several months to reach agreement as the imposes 鈥渆xtraordinary measures鈥� to keep the government operating until at least June. But years of intensifying partisan hostility have led to a conflicting set of demands that jeopardize the ability of the lawmakers to work together on a basic duty.
Biden insists on a 鈥渃lean鈥� increase to the debt limit so that existing financial commitments can be sustained and is refusing to even start talks with Republicans. McCarthy is calling for negotiations that he believes will lead to spending cuts. It's unclear how much he wants to trim and whether fellow Republicans would support any deal after a testy start to the new Congress that required 15 rounds of voting to elect McCarthy as speaker.
Asked twice on Wednesday if there was evidence that House Republicans can ensure that the government would avert a default, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said it's their 鈥渃onstitutional responsibility鈥� to protect the full faith and credit of the United States. She did not say whether the White House saw signs at this stage that a default was off the table.
鈥淲e're just not going to negotiate that,鈥� Jean-Pierre said. 鈥淭hey should feel the responsibility.鈥�
McCarthy said Biden needs to recognize the political realities that come with a divided government. The speaker equates the debt ceiling to a credit card limit and calls for a level of fiscal restraint that did not occur under President Donald Trump, a Republican who in 2019 signed a bipartisan suspension of the debt ceiling.
鈥淲hy create a crisis over this?" McCarthy said this week. "I mean, we鈥檝e got a Republican House, a Democratic Senate. We鈥檝e got the president there. I think it鈥檚 arrogance to say, 鈥極h, we鈥檙e not going to negotiate about pretty much anything鈥� and especially when it comes to funding.鈥�
Any deal would need to pass the Democratic-run Senate. Many Democratic lawmakers are skeptical about the ability to work with Republicans aligned with the 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� movement started by Trump. The MAGA movement has claimed that the 2020 election lost by Trump was rigged, a falsehood that contributed to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
鈥淭here should be no political brinkmanship with the debt limit,鈥� said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. 鈥淚t鈥檚 reckless for Speaker McCarthy and MAGA Republicans to try and use the full faith and credit of the United States as a political bargaining chip.鈥�
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.
What happens if these measures are exhausted without a debt limit deal is unknown. A prolonged default could be devastating, with crashing markets and panic-driven layoffs if confidence evaporated in a cornerstone of the global economy, the U.S. Treasury note.
Analysts at Bank of America cautioned in a report last week that 鈥渢here is a high degree of uncertainty about the speed and magnitude of the damage the U.S. economy would incur.鈥�
The underlying challenge is that the government would have to balance its books on a daily basis if it lacks the ability to issue debt. If the government cannot issue debt, it would have to impose cuts equal in size on an annual basis to 5% of the total U.S. economy. Analysts say their baseline case is that the U.S. avoids default.
Still, if past debt ceiling showdowns such as the one that occurred in 2011 are any guide, Washington may be in a nervous state of suspended animation with little progress until the 鈥淴-date,鈥� the deadline when the Treasury's 鈥渆xtraordinary measures鈥� are depleted.
Unlike the 2011 showdown, the Federal Reserve is actively raising interest rates to lower inflation and is rolling off its own holdings of U.S. debt, meaning that recession fears are already elevated among consumers, businesses and investors.
Biden administration officials have said they will not prioritize payments to bondholders if the country passes the 鈥淴-date鈥� without an agreement. Over the years, officials have studied this emergency option, which Treasury officials across administration have said is unworkable because of the government's payments system.
鈥淭o some extent, the 鈥榚xtraordinary measures鈥� are the backup plan, and once those are exhausted the next step is a major question mark,鈥� economists at Wells Fargo wrote in a Thursday analysis.
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AP writer Lisa Mascaro contributed to this story.
This story has been corrected to show the debt limit is $31.381 trillion, not $38.381 trillion.
Josh Boak, The Associated Press
