U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Tuesday urged Congress to raise the government's borrowing authority "way in advance" of a February deadline to avoid a similar fiscal crisis last month.
"The full faith and credit of the United States, whether it's bonds or contracts or benefits, has to be honored," Lew said at the Wall Street Journal's CEO Council annual meeting here, Wall Street Journal reported.
After the 16-day partial federal government shutdown starting on Oct. 1, Democrats and Republicans inked a deal to fund the government through Jan. 15 and lift the government's debt limit through Feb. 7.
The Treasury Department is only able to use emergency measures to fund the government for roughly another month after the February debt limit deadline, he cautioned.
