Oh now this is just wonderful

Another Obama appointee in over his head. From the Minneapolis, MN Star Tribune:

US Treasury secretary says he has begun tapping federal retiree pension fund to avoid default
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said late Monday he will begin tapping into two government employee retirement funds to buy more time before the U.S. Treasury is faced with the prospect of defaulting on the national debt.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Lew said that he would tap the civil service retirement and disability fund and a similar fund that covers retired postal workers. The law allows him to remove investments from these funds to clear room for more borrowing until Congress votes to raise the debt limit.

Under the law, any investments diverted from the pension funds must be replaced with interest once Congress approves raising the debt limit.

Hey -- don't bother paying it back. Worked great for the Social Security lockbox didn't it? Congress must not approve a debt limit increase -- we are overspending and need to cut back. A bit more:

A standoff over budget issues in August 2011 pushed the country close to its first-ever default before President Barack Obama and Republicans reached a last-minute compromise. That battle prompted Standard & Poor's to issue the first-ever downgrade on long-term Treasury debt. The administration has vowed to prevent Republicans from using the need to raise the borrowing limit as leverage in the current budget battle.

Budget? We haven't had a budget for over four years. We are required by law to pass one every two but every budget Obama has submitted to Congress has been voted down unanimously. As for "preventing Republicans" -- these members of Congress are listening to their constituents and acting on their behalf. We the People and all that stuff...