Toomey specifies national debt payment priorities
Sen. Pat Toomey has been talking about the national debt ceiling for quite some time now. But with an Aug. 2 deadline looming, Toomey sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday, calling on Geithner to support the Ensuring the Full Faith and Credit of the United States and Protecting America’s Soldiers and Seniors Act.
“The Full Faith and Credit Act would take the possibility of default off the table by prioritizing federal payments toward debt service,” Toomey writes. “My bill was never intended to be a substitute for raising the debt ceiling and achieving fiscal reforms. Rather, it was intended to be a mechanism to diminish disruption and ensure market stability.”
The bill would require that interest and principal payment on the national debt, Social Security checks and active-duty military pay be prioritized after Aug. 2.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.