Akabas: Funding Deadline, New Tax Law Complicate Debt Limit Picture

Washington, D.C.– The following is a statement from Shai Akabas, director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, on updated debt limit projections from the Congressional Budget Office:

“Next week’s government funding deadline—with the real potential for another short-term CR—and the impact of the new tax law portends a worsening political scenario for the federal debt limit. CBO updated its debt limit projections yesterday, estimating that the federal government will run out of money to pay its bills sometime in early March, consistent with BPC projections. This new estimate reflects the effects of tax reform, which will cause the federal government to run out of money sooner than previously estimated, in a timeline that could complicate Congressional budget negotiations.”