9/1/2017

BUDGET/CRISIS/TEXAS/TREASURY: “Widespread support on Capitol Hill for Hurricane Harvey relief aid could help ease passage of high-stakes fiscal legislation that Congress must approve in September, lawmakers and analysts say.
As Texas and Louisiana began to regroup after the storm’s record rainfalls, both Democrats and Republicans said they hoped to pass emergency relief funding quickly when lawmakers return to Washington next week to help storm victims rebuild.
Congress already faces a long list of legislation that needs to be approved before the end of September, including an extension of government funding known as a continuing resolution, or CR, and an increase in the federal government’s borrowing limit. Attaching the popular Harvey aid could help boost support for bills that many Republicans have balked at in the past, in particular the move to increase the debt limit…
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has urged lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling by Sept. 29 to ensure that the government has enough cash to continue paying its bills in full and on time. The agency has employed cash-conservation measures since March, when a new limit was set at nearly $20 trillion.
Mr. Mnuchin, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Thursday [8-31-17], said he continues to hold discussions with congressional leaders in both parties about raising the ceiling.”

-Kate Davidson and Kristina Peterson, “Harvey Relief Bill Could Help Congress Raise Debt Ceiling,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 1, 2017 05:30am