US Congress again urged to raise debt ceiling

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has called on US Congress to raise the federal borrowing ceiling immediately in order to avert another political showdown over debt.

“We have, you know, a deadline looming in February. February 7th our borrowing authority runs out again. At that point, Congress has to act,” Lew said at a discussion hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday.

“I think that if Congress is looking at the numbers the way we are—we have the best data—they would see that they would be looking more at the end of February than any time in March,” he added.

The $17 trillion debt ceiling, which was suspended in October as part of the agreement to reopen and fund the government following a 16-day shutdown, will be reached again on Feb. 7.

The Treasury Department can then use special authority to prevent the nation from defaulting.

The measures briefly allow the United States to continue to meet its obligations until a later date, often referred to as the “drop-dead” deadline. At that point, the nation risks default.

“It’s a mistake to go to the last minute… It’s a mistake to wait until the 11th hour,” Lew said. “Congress should do this as quickly as possible and with the least drama as possible.”

“People worry about what happens if payments aren’t made, what happens if there’s an economic fallout that undermines their stability, their employment. These are not things that Congress should play games with,” he said.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have battled to the last minute over the debt ceiling three times over the past 16 months.