U.S. to Auction Record $61 Billion of Securities

The cash-strapped government, finally given some breathing room by Congress, announced Thursday that it would go on a borrowing binge, raising a record $61 billion over the next two weeks.

The Treasury Department was given authority for the new borrowing with congressional passage of interim legislation raising the government’s debt limit to $1.9 trillion.

The $80-billion increase in the government’s line of credit allowed the Treasury Department to schedule security auctions that have been delayed for the past seven weeks by a congressional impasse over a new debt limit.

Even the huge infusion of new money will only keep the government operating through Dec. 6, when the government’s coffers will again be empty without passage of legislation raising the debt ceiling over $2 trillion.

The Treasury Department announced that the first two security auctions will be held today in order to raise $22 billion to cover paychecks for the military and other federal workers and $16 billion in interest payments to bondholders that are coming due.

The announcement of $61 billion in auctions could drive up interest rates given the fact that the government has never tried to raise this much cash in such a short period of time, analysts said.

However, in recent weeks, interest rates have dipped lower as pension funds and other big purchasers of government securities, hungry for new issues, bid aggressively for the small amount of securities that the government was able to offer.

Here are details of the auctions that the government will be holding:

- $18 billion in a 14-day cash management bill to be auctioned today with a minimum purchase of $10 million.

- $4 billion in a 69-day cash management bill to be auctioned today with a minimum purchase of $10 million.

- $8.75 billion in three-year notes in minimum denominations of $5,000 to be auctioned on Tuesday.

- $7 billion in 10-year notes in minimum denominations of $1,000 to be auctioned on Thursday.

- $6.75 billion in 30-year bonds in minimum denominations of $1,000 to be auctioned next Friday.

- $9 billion in 52-week bills in minimum denominations of $10,000 to be auctioned on Nov. 26.

- $7.5 billion in five-year, two-month notes in minimum denominations of $1,000 to be auctioned on Nov. 27.