Hatch Chastises Administration Over Market Comments

The top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee chastised the Obama administration for stoking “greater market uncertainty and volatility” with recent warnings to investors about the threat of a U.S. default.

“Comments such as those recently made by administration officials invite greater market uncertainty and volatility, which threatens the livelihoods and savings of millions of Americans,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) said in a Friday letter to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew. “This is irresponsible and threatens to create needless panic.”

“As Treasury Secretary, you have been entrusted to be a responsible steward of the public’s finances, and should act in every possible capacity to protect and enhance the depth, liquidity and efficiency of markets for U.S. debt securities,” Mr. Hatch said.

President Barack Obama, Mr. Lew and other top officials in recent days have suggested investors should not be as calm as they have been as the U.S. comes close to exhausting its ability to borrow money. Mr. Lew has said Congress must raise the $16.7 trillion debt ceiling by Oct. 17 or the U.S. may not be able to pay all of its bills.

“I think they should be concerned,” Mr. Obama told CNBC this week, when asked if Wall Street should remain calm over the standoff. “When you have a situation in which a faction is willing potentially to default on U.S. government obligations then we are in trouble. And if they’re willing to do it now, they’ll be willing to do it later.”

Jason Furman, the chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, suggested in an interview Thursday markets should not assume the conflict will be resolved at the last minute, as it has been in the past. “It’s not obvious to us that this time is business as usual,” Mr. Furman said. “We think that’s something that people need to understand and appreciate.”

In his letter to Mr. Lew, Mr. Hatch said “it is irresponsible for high-ranking government officials to stoke fear into the marketplace and sentiments of the American people based on personal conjectures, when you know that Republicans are willing to work with you to reach a reasonable resolution.”

Mr. Hatch said “the overwhelming majority of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are committed to ensuring” that the U.S. does not default.