0 SHARES Share TweetWASHINGTON, United States, Jul 24 – The US government will hit the federal borrowing limit on August 1, forcing officials to take “extraordinary measures” until lawmakers increase the level, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Friday. Congress suspended the debt limit in 2019 but that exemption expires in about two weeks, and Yellen warned of dire consequences if Congress fails to act. The US national debt has soared during the Covid-19 pandemic after Washington approved three massive spending bills aimed at lessening the damage from its economic impacts. Yellen stressed that raising the debt limit does not increase spending but simply allows Treasury to finance actions already approved by the legislature. As Congress debates Democratic President Joe Biden’s budget and spending proposals to revamp the nation’s infrastructure, top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell has threatened to oppose a debt limit increase.

Source: Daily Nation July 23, 2021 18:11 UTC