Geithner: No debt limit hit until quite late '12 (by Greg Robb)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The United States won't reach the debt ceiling until "quite late" in 2012, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday. "We do not expect to hit the debt limit until quite late in the year, significantly after the end of the fiscal year [Sept. 30] but before the end of the calendar year," Geithner told the Senate Budget Committee. There has been lingering concern in financial markets that the U.S. would hit the $16.4 trillion debt limit before the Nov. 6 presidential election, when tension between the two political parties is expected be intense. Last month, the debt ceiling was raised by $1.2 trillion after Congress did not pass a resolution opposing it. The debt-limit is one of a series of important fiscal issues that may have to be decided by the lame duck Congress. Geithner also told the committee that he would not support extending the payroll tax cut into 2013. Congressional negotiators have reached a deal to extend the tax break for the rest of 2012.