Debt-ceiling delay could mean workers miss November paychecks

[nitpicker]

http://hamptonroads.com/2015/10/debtceiling-delay-could-mean-workers-miss-november-paychecks#_ga=1.36691301.491600276.1443872373

Debt-ceiling delay could mean workers miss November paychecks

By Kasia Klimasinska | Bloomberg News

© October 19, 2015

WASHINGTON

Retirees, military officers and federal workers who don't like to get caught up in politics might suddenly have a reason to care. Congress has until early November to compromise on raising the debt ceiling, or they might not get paid.

Since March, the U.S. Treasury has been using extraordinary measures to stay under the borrowing threshold, waiting for lawmakers to increase it. The debt limit needs to be lifted by Nov. 3, two days earlier than previously estimated, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned Thursday. After that, the Treasury will be left with less than $30 billion of cash on hand, he said.

Analysts at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington and Jefferies Group LLC in New York estimated in a report Wednesday, before Lew's latest projection, that as early as Nov. 10 the Treasury's account might run completely dry. Then, incoming revenue will be enough to cover about 69 percent of the government's expenses, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The largest outlays include payments of about $14 billion each for Social Security on Nov. 10, 18 and 25; $2.7 billion in military pay on Nov. 16; and a total of $4.7 billion in federal salaries on Nov. 20 and 23. The Treasury might have to prioritize, paying only some bills on time, the center said.
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[hobbit709]

1. And the Congresscritters made sure they're not going without.