Treasury chief: At times, a gov’t shutdown could be ‘good’

In 2013, House GOP conservatives sparked a government shutdown in a failed attempt to gain leverage over former President Barack Obama as he began implementing health care legislation. GOP poll numbers dropped but soon recovered.

Mnuchin stressed that he is seeking speedy passage of separate legislation to increase the government’s borrowing cap, or debt limit, and avert any possibility of the U.S. defaulting on obligations such as interest payments on bonds and interrupting benefit programs.

But he told the Senate panel that Treasury can use accounting manoeuvrs to prevent a government default “through September” so that lawmakers could act to increase the government’s borrowing cap after Congress returns from its annual August vacation.

A shutdown, however, comes when Congress fails to pass spending bills, which would cause non-essential government agencies to close their doors.

Mnuchin seemed to agree with Trump that a shutdown of Washington could shake things up and produce positive results.

“There could be reasons at various times why that is the right outcome,” Mnuchin said.

He was then pressed by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., about the uncertainty to the economy and government workers that a shutdown could spark.

“If the certainty is bad, I’d rather have uncertainty that could lead to good outcomes than certainty that assures bad outcomes,” Mnuchin said. “But these are very hypothetical situations.”

He said that “critical functions of the government” like the military and air traffic control would continue.

“I assure you — just as I’ve said with the debt limit … we would never shut down critical functions of the government,” he said.

Andrew Taylor, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Treasury chief: At times, a gov’t shutdown could be ‘good’

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