Word: debts
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...budget impasse had 'significantly increased the risk of a default.' Urged on by House Speaker Newt Gingrich's offer to make a "down payment" on reaching a budget deal, Tumulty reports that even hard-line House Freshmen appear ready to make a deal. "The threat of not extending the debt ceiling was going to be their last hurrah, and it now looks like the Republicans are going to make a deal to extend that...
WHILE THE BUDGET EQUIVALENT OF MELROSE PLACE reached a climax this week, a new installment in the spin-off drama, Default Lane, began filming. For those who hate suspense, here's a preview of the final scene: there's no chance the U.S. government will default on its debt, now or ever...
...last episode, you'll recall, there was a tremendous wringing of hands when Congress refused in mid-November to extend the official $4.9 trillion debt limit, a tactic designed to force the President to approve its budget. Yet markets remained unruffled, knowing that Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin had internal bookkeeping changes up his sleeve that could lower our "official" debt and let Uncle Sam keep paying the bills. What Rubin has done to date--mostly shifting civil service pension money to accounts that aren't constrained by the debt limit--should take the government through mid-February. Such short-term...
That's a difficult argument to win, since Rubin's actions so far have been authorized by a statute passed while Ronald Reagan was in office. Meanwhile, with the G.O.P. budget plan itself calling for the debt to rise toward $6 trillion over seven years, a renewed debt-limit showdown can't help looking hypocritical. The Administration won't say what happens next if the limit isn't raised soon. But there's more than $1 trillion in trust funds and plenty of gold in Fort Knox that might be temporarily "reclassified" if the G.O.P. won't budge...
WASHINGTON, D.C. The White House urged Newt Gingrich and Bob Dole Monday to repudiate House Majority Leader Dick Armey's suggestion that any bill to raise the debt ceiling would also contain far-reaching policy changes such as the elimination of the Commerce Department. "His remarks are dangerous," Mike McCurry told reporters today, adding that the tactic could put U.S. economic security at risk. Karen Tumulty reports: "Armey's comments notwithstanding, there's no Republican strategy on the debt yet. Members are still returning to Washington. Moreover, the White House may have some leverage, given its advantage over Congress...