Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen speaks during a briefing at the US Federal Reserve December 13, 2017 in Washington, DC. The US central bank on Wednesday raised the benchmark interest rate for the third and final time this year, and officials indicated they are not likely to be more aggressive next year, at least for now. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, Aug 2 (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday took additional steps to preserve the federal government’s borrowing capacity under a reinstated debt limit, suspending some investments in government employee retirement and health benefits funds.
In a letter to House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders, Yellen said she was suspending investments in the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund and the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund that are not immediately required to pay beneficiaries.
A two-year suspension of the federal debt limit expired on Saturday, reinstating the cap at the current debt level of about $28.5 trillion.