Debt Limit Will Be Reached After Labor Day

Jack Lew urging ceiling to be raised

The government will be able to avoid breaching its borrowing limit until shortly after Labor Day, but that is no excuse for Congress to dawdle when it comes to raising the debt ceiling, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew informed congressional leaders in a letter Friday.

Congress voted earlier this year to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling through May 18, but Lew said that the Treasury Department will begin using accounting maneuvers, or "extraordinary measures," to delay hitting the borrowing limit.

Lew reiterated the administration's position that it will not negotiate over whether to raise the debt ceiling and said Congress should not wait until the last minute to lift the borrowing cap.