U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday warned that failure by Congress to raise the government's debt ceiling – and the resulting default – would trigger an "economic catastrophe" that would send interest rates higher for years to come.
Yellen, in remarks prepared for a Washington event with business executives from California, said a default on U.S. debt would result in job losses, while driving household payments on mortgages, auto loans and credit cards higher.
She said it was a "basic responsibility" of Congress to increase or suspend the $31.4 trillion borrowing cap, warning that a default would threaten the economic progress that the United States has made since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andrea Shalal | Yahoo Finance