Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday put the onus on Congress to raise the nation's borrowing limit — as the deadline for when the country will be unable to pay all of its bills approaches as soon as June 1.
In an interview with ABC "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos, Yellen also played down the possibility that invoking the 14th Amendment would solve the looming crisis.
Congressional Republicans maintain that the debt should be tied to a compromise on spending and the budget. President Joe Biden has said they are separate issues.
"Since 1960, the debt ceiling has been raised 78 times, three times during the prior administration, always with bipartisan support. And it simply is unacceptable for Congress to threaten economic calamity for American households and the global financial system as the cost of raising the debt ceiling and getting the agreements on budget priorities," Yellen said on "This Week."
Pressed by Stephanopoulos on whether the Biden administration saw a solution in using the 14th Amendment — which states that the public debt "shall not be questioned" — Yellen eventually said, "I don't want to consider emergency options. What's important is that members of Congress recognize what their responsibility is."
"There's simply no good options, and the ones that you have listed are among the not good options," she said.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference at the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C., April 11, 2023.Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters, FILE
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
