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US Treasury Secretary Yellen: One of the key figures in the debt dispute
Photo: SARAH SILBIGER / POOL / EPA
In the dispute over the US debt ceiling, state payments should continue to be restricted.
The current special program is to be extended until December 3rd.
Finance Minister Janet Yellen announced this.
Among other things, the special program suspends payments to certain pension funds, such as those of the US Postal Service.
The reduced investment should enable the state to stay below the current debt ceiling.
At the same time, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged a long-term solution.
"It is imperative that Congress agree to an increase or abolition of the debt ceiling so that the government can permanently meet its payment obligations," Yellen wrote in a letter to senior congressmen.
The dispute over federal funding has been raging for weeks.
The impending insolvency of the USA was only averted on October 8 with a slight increase in the debt ceiling.
The Senate then approved an increase in the debt limit by $ 480 billion by December 3.
The House of Representatives and US President Joe Biden have also approved the deal since then.
Without this step, according to Yellen's earlier statements, the US would no longer have been able to meet its payment obligations from around October 18.
The Treasury Secretary had warned several times about the consequences of insolvency for the United States, but also for the global economy.
No breather
This is not a breather, however, as Democrats and Republicans have to find a permanent solution to the cap in the meantime.
Over the past few months, it has become clear again and again that this will not be easy: Both parties are shifting responsibility for the conflict on to one another.
The vote to increase went along the party lines: No Republicans joined the Democrats.
The current debt ceiling is around $ 28.9 trillion.
Biden's Democrats actually wanted to lift the border by December 16, 2022.
jlk / Reuters