Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Debt Ceiling Projection:
“The country is getting closer to default, uncertainty is mounting, and it’s going to drag on our economy more and more with every passing week. There’s still only one way out of this manufactured crisis, and it’s for Republicans to work with Democrats to pass a clean debt ceiling increase just like we passed on a bipartisan basis when Donald Trump was in office.
“If the Republicans’ goal really was working together to shore up the country’s fiscal health, they would never use the debt ceiling as a hostage-taking weapon. That’s because the default they’re threatening to trigger would be fiscally devastating and would make it much harder for the country to pay its debts. It could take years or even decades to recover.
“Democrats are going to stand firm against any Republican effort to cut Social Security and Medicare. There now appears to be a growing effort among Republicans to use this crisis they started to end Medicaid as we know it, following through on the extreme cuts and restrictions Donald Trump attempted to impose as president. By going after Medicaid, Republicans would be saying they’ll crash the economy if they can’t lay waste to the program that insures more Americans than any other, pays for two out of three nursing home beds and is an essential source of health care for pregnant women, infants and children. Democrats must stand up and prevent that from happening.”
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the federal government’s capacity to borrow money through extraordinary measures is expected to run dry sometime between July and September of 2023. However, it is important to note that this projected date could be affected by several factors. For example, if income tax returns in April turn out to be lower than CBO estimates due to declines in capital gains or slower growth in income than initially expected, then the date at which the government exhausts its borrowing capabilities will also shift. With that being said, it is critical for Congress to keep a close eye on all of these dynamics as they control when, and how much, money can be borrowed — decisions that will ultimately impact the fiscal health of the nation.
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