The US government could start to run short of funds to meet its obligations by October 17, Jack Lew, the Treasury secretary said, unless Congress votes to lift the country’s debt ceiling before then, writes Richard McGregor in Washington.
Mr Lew’s letter to John Boehner, the Republican House Speaker, and other congressional leaders, in effect sets a deadline for Republicans and the White House to resolve their stand-off over approval for new government borrowings.
“If we have insufficient cash on hand, it would be impossible for the United States of America to meet all of its obligations for the first time in our history,” Mr Lew wrote yesterday.