U.S. Treasury activates another maneuver to avoid breaching debt limit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen activated another extraordinary cash management measure on Tuesday to avoid breaching the federal debt limit, suspending daily reinvestments in a large government retirement fund that holds Treasury debt, the department said.

华盛顿（路透社）——美国财政部表示，美国财政部长珍妮特耶伦周二启动了另一项非常规现金管理措施，以避免违反联邦债务上限，暂停对持有美国国债的大型政府退休基金的日常再投资。

In a letter notifying Congress of the move to access the Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund), Yellen did not alter a projected early June deadline for when the Treasury may no longer be able to pay the nations bills without an increase in the $31.4 trillion statutory borrowing limit.

在一封通知国会有关动用政府证券投资基金 (g fund) 的信中，耶伦没有改变预计的 6 月初截止日期，届时财政部可能无法在不增加 31.4 万亿美元的情况下支付国家账单法定借款限额。

“The statute governing G Fund investments expressly authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to suspend investment of the G Fund to avoid breaching the statutory debt limit,” Yellen wrote in the letter to House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, and other congressional leaders. “My predecessors have taken this suspension action in similar circumstances.”

“管理 g 基金投资的法规明确授权财政部长暂停 g 基金的投资，以避免违反法定债务限额，”耶伦在致众议院议长、共和党人凯文麦卡锡和其他国会领导人的信中写道. “我的前任在类似情况下采取了这种暂停行动。”

Yellen last week suspended reinvestments in two other retirement and health benefit funds as the government nominally reached the debt ceiling. Republicans who now control the House have threatened to oppose a debt ceiling increase without spending reductions from the Biden administration.

由于政府名义上达到债务上限，耶伦上周暂停了对另外两个退休和健康福利基金的再投资。现在控制众议院的共和党人威胁要反对拜登政府在不削减开支的情况下提高债务上限。

The G-Fund maneuver is one of the largest tools that Treasury can employ to reclaim borrowing capacity under the debt ceiling. The fund, part of the Thrift Savings Plan for federal employees, had net assets of $210.9 billion at the end of 2021, according to its most recent annual report.

g-fund 策略是财政部可以用来恢复债务上限下借贷能力的最大工具之一。根据其最新的年度报告，该基金是联邦雇员节俭储蓄计划的一部分，截至 2021 年底的净资产为 2109 亿美元。

Normally the money market-like retirement fund reinvests its entire balance daily into special-issue Treasury securities that count against the debt limit. Halting the reinvestments allows more normal Treasury bills, notes and bonds to be issued.

通常，类似于货币市场的退休基金每天将其全部余额再投资于计入债务限额的特别发行的国债。停止再投资允许发行更多正常的国库券、票据和债券。

But the Treasury is required by law to replenish the fund, along with any lost earnings, once a debt limit impasse ends. Federal retirees and employees would be unaffected by this action.

但是，一旦债务上限僵局结束，法律要求财政部补充该基金以及任何损失的收入。联邦退休人员和雇员将不受此行动的影响。

“I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States,” Yellen wrote, repeating a regular line in her letters to lawmakers.

耶伦写道：“我恭敬地敦促国会迅速采取行动，保护美国的全部信心和信用。”她在给立法者的信中重复了一句固定的话。

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Tim Ahmann and Jonathan Oatis)

（david lawder 报道；tim ahmann 和 jonathan oatis 编辑）