The clock is ticking on the debt ceiling as the Biden administration and U.S. House leaders seek a deal on federal spending cuts. Congressman Bill Huizenga tells us the situation is evolving.
“It looks like the issues are narrowing, but the narrower it gets, the tougher those issues get,” Huizenga said.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. could default on its debt in June if the debt ceiling isn’t raised. With June about here, Huizenga says there isn’t quite a hard date for when the default would come.
“The U.S. government takes in somewhere between $120 and $140 billion per day, and we have dwindling cash reserves, but we also have income taxes, quarterly income taxes, that are coming in. So, that date isn’t necessarily a hard and fast date. What we don’t know is whether it’s June 5 or June 7 or June 10.”
Economists have warned the consequences of a debt default would be catastrophic. Huizenga says even if a debt ceiling deal is reached, it would take a day to draft it all out, and then the House would need a few days to review it. Then there’s the time the Senate will need. Despite all of this, he still believes an agreement will be reached.
