Washington

Explainer: What happens if Washington falls behind on its bills?

Published

12 months ago

May 18, 2023

Explainer: What happens if Washington falls behind on its bills?

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. government could fall behind on its bills next month – and even default on its debt – if Congress doesn’t raise a $31.4 trillion cap on government borrowing, a failure that could trigger economic calamity and panic on global financial markets.

What follows is a timeline showing how a cascade of missed payments could unfold, based on the U.S. Treasury’s warning that it could run out of cash as early as June 1, and daily tax receipts and spending obligations projected by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington-based think tank.

JUNE 1

The U.S. Treasury’s cash coffers would run dry, causing it to hit the debt ceiling. The day’s $26 billion in tax revenues would not be enough to cover about $101 billion in spending obligations promised by Congress.

Who wouldn’t get paid? Possibly everybody expecting a check.

If the Treasury operated under a plan drawn up in 2011, it would not pick and choose which bills to pay and would instead wait until it had enough money to pay a full day’s bills. Medical providers would get stiffed for $47 billion in payments from Medicare, the U.S public health insurance program for the elderly. Soldiers also would go unpaid.

Wall Street investors could still be paid for now, but there are risks. With debt principal payments coming due – including more than $100 billion on June 1 – the Treasury would borrow just enough to cover what’s due and stay under the debt limit. If investors declined to lend that money out of fear they wouldn’t get paid back, America could start missing payments and enter default on its debt, rocking the global financial system.

JUNE 2

Even if Washington kept paying debts on time, stock markets would likely be swooning. That could put pressure on Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Democratic President Joe Biden to act quickly. Republicans, who control one chamber in Congress, are demanding steep spending cuts in exchange for their support raising the debt ceiling.

Without a deal, another day of checks might not go out. Pensioners and other Social Security beneficiaries wouldn’t get $25 billion owed them. States wouldn’t receive $2 billion they are owed for Medicaid health insurance subsidies for the poor. By this time, broad swaths of the country wouldn’t be getting paid.

JUNE 6

Weapons manufacturers and other companies supplying the U.S. military wouldn’t collect $2 billion owed them.

JUNE 7

About a week into the crisis, it’s possible some checks could finally go out. The U.S. Treasury would have collected about $110 billion in taxes since it stopped being able to add to the debt, enough to cover the bills from June 1. But more bills would keep coming due, and Americans expecting tax refund deposits on June 7 wouldn’t get about $1 billion owed them.

JUNE 8

Education programs run by state and local governments wouldn’t get $1 billion in planned funding. The crisis would deepen in U.S. hospitals as federal insurance payments fell further behind.

JUNE 15

Things would get extra dicey on June 15 when the Treasury is due to pay investors about $2 billion in interest payments on the national debt. The Treasury said in 2014 – following another near-collision with the debt ceiling – that it is technically capable of prioritizing interest payments over other obligations.

Provided that capability panned out, the day’s inflow of business tax receipts would give the Treasury enough cash to make the debt payment. But revenues wouldn’t cover all the other bills due June 15, such as military salaries.

Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Michael Perry

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Related Topics:AMERS ANLINS DBT ECO ECON EF:MARKETS-MACROMATTERS EXPLN Featured GEN GFIN GVD MCE NAMER POL us WASH

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Washington

Oregon State, Washington State football games will on CW or Fox this fall, Pac-12 announces

Published

9 mins ago

May 14, 2024

Press Room

Oregon State, Washington State football games will on CW or Fox this fall, Pac-12 announces

The Pac-12 Conference announced on Tuesday that Oregon State and Washington State’s home games will be on the CW Network or Fox. Most will be on the CW, including the Beavers hosting the Cougars on Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Fox or FS1 will carry Texas Tech at Washington State on Sept. 7 and Oregon at Oregon State on Sept. 14.

Oregon State and Washington State remain committed to rebuilding the Pac-12, but it will as a two-team league for 2024 and possibly 2025.

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Washington

Liberty begin title quest in Washington

Published

8 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Press Room

The Liberty went on to vanquish Connecticut in four games and nearly forced a fifth and decisive contest against reigning back-to-back champion Las Vegas in October before suffering a 70-69 defeat in front of a near-sellout crowd on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.

Now, the quest officially starts again to bring home this franchise’s first-ever WNBA Finals after New York earned a berth in the championship round for the first time since 2002 a season ago.

Armed with arguably the best starting five in the world, reigning WNBA Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart, former MVP Jonquel Jones, last year’s assists leader Courtney Vandersloot, All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu and former All-Star Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. the Liberty are locked and loaded.

They ended the preseason with last Thursday night’s 82-79 win over the Sun at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena.

Ionescu scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, and Laney-Hamilton went perfect from beyond the arc by drilling all four of her long-range shots en route to 14 points.

Coach Sandy Brondello believes the Liberty will need their entire roster to make a serious run at the WNBA title this year. AP Photo by Terrance Williams

The victory came two days after a preseason-opening 101-53 loss in Chicago that saw the Liberty’s “Fab Five” combine for only 25 points on 10-of-33 shooting before coach Sandy Brondello sent in the reserves.

“Just our response and being able to come together and put that last game behind us,” said Ionescu after burning the Sun with six rebounds and two steals as well as her strong shooting performance.

“Our response really showed how we came together and trust each other. … We have to take it up a notch (in Washington Tuesday),” she added.

Six-foot guard Marquesha Davis, New York’s first-round pick in this year’s draft, scored eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in only 11 minutes vs. Connecticut, and earned a spot on the roster out of training camp.

Second-round pick Esmery Martinez was waived last weekend, and rookie Jaylyn Sherrod didn’t make the opening-night roster either.

Sherrod did impress her coach with a key steal late in the game while also scoring eight points in 14 minutes. She may appear in a Liberty uniform at some point this year.

“She did a great job,” Brondello said of Sherrod. “She played so hard, but I decided to get her in at the end because she’s a game-changer. … She got a really big turnover at the end to help us win the game.”

Free agents Kennedy Burke, Ivana Dojkic and Leonie Fiebich made the cut for the opener, as did back-up forward Kayla Thornton and center Nyara Sabally.

Though they will likely live and die with their starting five on most nights, the Liberty know the importance of a deep roster, especially as they begin a grueling 40-game season.

“It takes 11, 12 players, however many we have to have a successful team,” Brondello noted. “That’s the great leadership that we have. We’re going to need that all year long.”

The Mystics dropped both of their exhibition contests, including last Wednesday’s 83-77 defeat to visiting Minnesota.

Ariel Atkins poured in 20 points and Myisha Hines-Allen added 12 off the bench for Washington, which beat New York at home 80-64 in last year’s season opener for both squads.

The Liberty rebounded to take the next two meetings, including an 89-88 overtime thriller at Barclays on June 25 that featured a clutch three-point play by Stewart and 31 points from Ionescu.

The Mystics did rebound to take the regular-season finale, 90-88, on Sept. 10 in Brooklyn behind Brittney Sykes’ buzzer-beating shot.

But New York never had to leave home en route to sweeping Washington out of the playoffs just over a week later.

Laney-Hamilton didn’t spend much time dwelling on either of the Liberty’s preseason performances, knowing the regular season was at hand.

“I think there’s always going to be a short turnaround,” she said. “So you can’t dwell too much on the past. We put emphasis on this game because we knew it was our last one before the season starts.”

Tip-off in D.C. is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday and the game will be televised locally by My9.

Brittney Sykes and the Mystics look to spoil New York’s season opener for the second year in a row Tuesday night in Washington D.C. AP Photo by Tony Gutierrez

GIVE ME LIBERTY: The Liberty extended their affiliation with the Hospital for Special Surgery Monday, announcing a five-year partnership with their official hospital. New York has been affiliated with HSS for nearly two decades and the hospital and Liberty revealed that they would increase team physician headcount to more than ever before. “At the core of the partnership renewal is the New York Liberty’s commitment to providing our athletes with access to world class medical care,” said Liberty general manager and 2023 WNBA Executive of the Year Jonathan Kolb. “Continuing to have HSS’ talented physicians in-house is an invaluable resource for our organization. It speaks volumes that top athletes from across the world choose HSS for their various orthopedic needs and we are thrilled our athletes will have that access for years to come.” … After visiting the Mystics, the Liberty will open a home-and-home set with first overall pick Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on the road Thursday before hosting their home opener on Saturday at 1 p.m. … Former Liberty center Stefanie Dolson will be facing her ex-teammates as a member of the Mystics Tuesday. Dolson averaged 4.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 23 games off the bench for New York last year.

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Washington

14 dead after massive billboard in Mumbai collapses on gas station

Published

15 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Press Room

14 dead after massive billboard in Mumbai collapses on gas station

At least 14 people were killed and more than 70 injured when a massive billboard collapsed on a gas station in Mumbai during a violent dust storm and heavy rainfall Monday, local officials said.

Mumbai police said the billboard, which measured about 230 by 164 feet (70 by 50 meters), collapsed at about 4:30 p.m. local time. Video of the incident shows a gray sky thick with dust as the massive structure falls directly on the gas station with a loud crash.

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