White House Turns Up Heat on Debt Negotiation Ahead of May 16 Meeting

The Biden administration turned up the heat on budget ceiling negotiations set for May 16 by releasing a pair of statements highlighting the urgency of a possible default on the nation’s financial obligations and detailing the spending cuts necessary to meet Republican budget targets.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had notified Congress on May 15 that the Treasury would lack the funds to meet all U.S. financial obligations by “early June, and potentially as early as June 1” if the debt ceiling were not increased. She raised the temperature further in remarks to a group of independent community bankers on May 16.
“In my assessment—and that of economists across the board—a U.S. default would generate an economic and financial catastrophe,” Yellen said….}