Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said…

"We have learned from the past that failing to act until the last minute can cause serious harm to business and consumer confidence, raise short-term borrowing costs for taxpayers and negatively impact the credit rating of the United States," he said. "And there is no way to predict the irreparable damage that default would have on global financial markets and the American people."

Just in time to impact the economy for the 2016 election. I wish I believed that the Republicans were above that shit.

Republican congressional leaders have said they do not want to trigger a default but are expected to push for spending cuts in exchange for lifting the debt limit. President Obama has said he would not negotiate over a debt limit increase because it is needed to pay for spending Congress already has authorized.

Because it's easier to throw a temper tantrum than to, you know, use the normal legislative process to pass spending bills…

/FFS