Barney Frank: U.S. government default likely

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Newton) says America might have to default on its bills for the first time ever because Democrats and Republicans can’t agree to raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling.




“I’m pessimistic about anything reasonable (winning congressional approval) in the near term,” Frank, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, told the New England Council in a Boston speech today. “It may be that we’re going to have to see some failure to raise the debt limit and some temporary hiatus in our ability to pay our bills (for lawmakers to act).”



The U.S. government officially hit its congressionally mandated debt ceiling on Monday when the nation’s red ink reached $14.3 trillion