The Honorable Nancy Pelosi 

Speaker 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Washington, DC 20515 

Dear Madam Speaker: 

I am writing to follow up on my previous letters regarding the debt limit and to provide 

additional information regarding the Department of the Treasury's ability to continue to finance 

the operations of the U.S. government. 

In my September 8 letter, I explained that Treasury's cash and extraordinary measures would 

most likely be exhausted sometime during the month of October. Based on our most recent 

information, including tax payments associated with the September 15 deadline for third quarter 

estimated tax payments for businesses and individuals, I am now able to further refine that 

projection. 

We now estimate that Treasury is likely to exhaust its extraordinary measures if Congress has 

not acted to raise or suspend the debt limit by October 18. At that point, we expect Treasury 

would be left with very limited resources that would be depleted quickly. It is uncertain whether 

we could continue to meet all the nation's commitments after that date. While this is our best 

estimate, the federal government's cash flows are subject to unavoidable variability. For 

example, the government's daily gross cash flow (excluding financing) over the past year 

averages nearly $50 billion per day and has exceeded $300 billion. As a result, it is important to 

remember that estimates regarding how long our remaining extraordinary measures and cash 

may last can unpredictably shift forward or backward. This uncertainty underscores the critical 

importance of not waiting to raise or suspend the debt limit. The full faith and credit of the 

United States should not be put at risk. 

Furthermore, we know from previous debt limit impasses that waiting until the last minute can 

cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise borrowing costs for taxpayers, 

and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States for years to come. Failure to act 

promptly could also result in substantial disruptions to financial markets, as heightened 

uncertainty can exacerbate volatility and erode investor confidence. 

I am also writing to notify you, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. §§ 8348(1)(2), of my determination that, by 

reason of the statutory debt limit, I will continue to be unable to fully invest the portion of the 
same manner as investments for the CSRDF, the Treasury Department will also continue to suspend additional investments of amounts credited to, and will redeem an additional portion of 

the investments held by, the PSRHBF. By law, the CSRDF and PSRHBF will be made whole 

once the debt limit is increased or suspended. Federal retirees and employees will be unaffected 

by these actions. 

Again, I respectfully urge Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by 

acting as soon as possible. 

Sincerely, 

Identical letter sent to: 

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy, House Republican Leader 

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer, Senate Majority Leader 

The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Senate Republican Leader 

cc: The Honorable Richard E. Neal, Chairman, House Committee on Ways and Means 

The Honorable Kevin Brady, Ranking Member, House Committee on Ways and Means 

The Honorable Ron Wyden, Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance 

The Honorable Mike Crapo, Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Finance