Treasury Sec Yellen Rejects GOP Debt Prioritisation Plan

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, providing testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on President Biden's Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal, has criticised a Republican plan to prioritise US government debt payments to avoid a default.

• Livestream: https://www.finance.senate.gov/hearings/the-presid...
• Yellen: "The US government on average makes millions of payments each day and our systems are built to pay all of our bills on time and not pick and choose which bills to pay.
• "There is a reason why treasury secretaries of each party have rejected this incredibly risky and dangerous idea and its never been tried before.
• "I cannot give any assurances about the technical feasibility of such a plan. It would be an exceptionally risky, untested, and radical departure from normal payment practises and I consider it essential that Congress come together to recognise that raising the debt ceiling is their responsibilty to protect the full faith and confidence of the United States."
• Yellen rejects a Republican suggestion that a default can be avoided by prioritsing payments: "Failing to pay all of your bills when they are due is a default."