U.S. Treasury Secretary Extends Timeline For Potential Debt Default

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is urging Congress to raise or suspend the debt limit by Dec. 15 or the U.S. risks defaulting on its bills.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress Tuesday that she believed she would run out of maneuvering room to avoid the nation's first-ever default soon after Dec. 15.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Yellen said that she believed Treasury could be left with insufficient resources to keep financing the government beyond Dec. 15.

Yellen's new date is 12 days later than the Dec. 3 date she provided in a letter to Congress on Oct. 18. That letter was based on the fact that Congress had just passed a $480 billion increase in the debt limit as a stop-gap measure.