7/26/2017

BUDGET/STEVE MNUNCHIN/TREASURY: “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Wednesday [7-26-17] his agency’s efforts to conserve cash until Congress raises the federal borrowing limit impose a ‘significant’ cost on taxpayers.
Government debt hit the borrowing limit in mid-March, and the Treasury has been using these ‘extraordinary measures’ since then to raise cash to keep paying the government’s bills on time.
Testifying before a Senate panel Wednesday, Mr. Mnuchin repeated his previous remarks that the government can keep employing those measures and maintain enough cash to pay its bills ‘through September.’ But he acknowledged those efforts come with a cost to taxpayers, which one senator estimated to be around $2.5 billion.
‘Right now effectively, as opposed to borrowing in the market at lower rates, we’re borrowing and making our trust funds whole at slightly higher rates,’ Mr. Mnuchin said. ‘There is a real cost to doing that.’
He said the implied cost of uncertainty in financial markets will also continue to grow the longer Congress waits to raise the limit. He once again urged lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling before they leave for their August recess, but House and Senate leaders have announced no plans to tackle the issue before they return in September.”

-Kate Davidson, “Mnuchin Says Treasury’s Effort to Conserve Cash Is Costing Taxpayers,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 26, 2017 11:12am