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Washington Treasurer Jim McIntire says he has six to eight weeks of cash available to keep paying state-government bills, if Congress fails to lift the debt ceiling in time and interrupts federal payments of about $500 million a month.
Even so, McIntire sent a letter to the state’s 11 members of the U.S. House and Senate on Monday, urging action and warning that inaction could “crush” the fragile global economic recovery. It also could put unwanted pressure on state banks and even larger ones if federal Treasury investments lose value, McIntire said Thursday.
“At this time, it is a much greater risk than these people recognize,” the first-term Democrat said, warning that global credit markets are at risk and that credit lines could freeze. “It is very reckless. It’s kind of shocking that people (in Congress) would take this kind of a risk with such a fragile recovery – with the state, national and global economy at such a risk.”