Lew Says Fannie Mae Delays U.S. Debt Limit Until September

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said a one-time payment from Fannie Mae confirms that the nation’s debt ceiling won’t be reached until September.

“The one-time payment that Fannie Mae has announced makes it very clear that we’re not going to hit the effective deadline until at least Labor Day,” he said in an interview on CNBC Television in London today. “The statutory debt limit will be reached in just a few days” and “because of the extraordinary measures that are available and cash flows that we now can predict it will not be until at least after Labor Day,” which falls on Sept. 2 this year.