Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote a letter to Congressional leaders on May 22, imploring legislators to raise the federal debt ceiling to avoid putting the U.S. into default on its obligations.
"The U.S. has kept its financial commitments since 1789 by paying its bills on time," Yellen wrote in a May 21 tweet in which she shared a video of a "Meet the Press" interview. "Congress has prevented default 78 times. It's essential they do so again."
With the deadline to reach a debt limit agreement looming, Yellen addressed her letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and all members of Congress, saying she was doing so to provide "updated information on the Treasury Department's ability to finance the federal government's operations."
Yellen warned on May 16 that if the debt limit is not raised or suspended by early June, the Treasury won't be able to meet all of the government's financial obligations. In her latest notice, Yellen said that as soon as June 1, the U.S. would no longer be able to satisfy its obligations if Congress fails to act on the debt ceiling.
"These estimates are based on currently available data, and federal receipts, outlays and debt could vary from these estimates. I will continue to update Congress as more information becomes available," Yellen wrote.
"We have learned from past debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute to suspend or increase the debt limit can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers, and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States," she wrote. "If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, it would cause severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests."