By David Lawder
WASHINGTON, May 12 (Reuters) - The United States faces a
"significant risk" of defaulting on payment obligations within
the first two weeks of June without a debt ceiling increase, the
Congressional Budget Office said on Friday, adding that payment
operations will remain uncertain throughout May.
The non-partisan budget referee agency's new estimate
largely tracks Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's June 1 deadline
for a potential default, underscoring the urgency of resolving a
bitter standoff between Republican and Democrats, even as a
Friday debt limit meeting between President Joe Biden and top
lawmakers was postponed.
But CBO held out hope for more negotiating time, saying the
Treasury can "probably" finance government operations through at
least the end of July if available cash and extraordinary
borrowing measures can last through June 15, when quarterly
estimated tax payments are due.
On June 30, the Treasury will be able to access $145 billion
in new extraordinary borrowing measures by suspending
investments in two government employee retirement and health
funds.
"The extent to which the government will be able to fund the
government's ongoing operations will remain uncertain throughout
May, even if the Treasury ultimately runs out of funds in early
June," the CBO said in a statement.
"That uncertainty exists because the timing and amount of
revenue collections and outlays over the intervening weeks could
differ from CBO's projections," the CBO said.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Paul Simao)
david.lawder.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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