Lew Says U.S. Will Reach Debt Limit By Nov. 3, Two Days Earlier Than Previously Estimated

The debt ceiling deadline is two days earlier than previously estimated, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told lawmakers in a letter Thursday. On that date, "we expect Treasury would be left with less than $30 billion to meet all of the nation's commitments -an amount far short of net expenditures on certain days, which can be as high as $60 billion," Lew said. This $30 billion would be depleted quickly, Lew said, urging Congress to take action as soon as possible to raise the debt limit. The accounting gimmicks that Treasury has been using to keep below the debt ceiling will no longer be useful after that date.