.START 

The Treasury said it plans to sell $30 billion in notes and bonds next week, but said the auctions will be postponed unless Congress acts quickly to lift the federal debt ceiling. 

Michael Basham, deputy assistant secretary for federal finance, said the Treasury may wait until late Monday or even early Tuesday to announce whether the autions are to be rescheduled.
Unless it can raise money in financial markets, Mr. Basham said, the federal government won't have the cash to pay off $13.8 billion in Treasury bills that mature on Thursday. 

Without congressional action, the Treasury can't sell any new securities -- even savings bonds.
But despite partisan bickering over the debt ceiling, which has become entangled in the fight over cutting capital-gains taxes, Congress is almost certain to act in time to avoid default. 

"Each day that Congress fails to act . . . will cause additional disruption in our borrowing schedule, possibly resulting in higher interest costs to the taxpayer," Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady said in a speech prepared for delivery last night to a group of bankers. "To avoid these costs, and a possible default, immediate action is imperative." 

The securities to be sold next week will raise about $10 billion in cash and redeem $20 billion in maturing notes. 

The new securities, part of the federal government's regular quarterly refunding, will consist of: 

-- $10 billion of three-year notes, to be auctioned Tuesday and to mature Nov. 15, 1992. 

-- $10 billion of 10-year notes, to be auctioned Wednesday and to mature Nov. 15, 1999. 

-- $10 billion of 30-year bonds, to be auctioned Thursday and to mature Aug. 15, 2019.
The Treasury also said it plans to sell $10 billion in 36-day cash management bills on Thursday.
They will mature Dec. 21. 

None of the securities will be eligible for when-issued trading until Congress approves an increase in the debt ceiling, clearing the way for a formal offering, Mr. Basham said. 

The Treasury said it needs to raise $47.5 billion in the current quarter in order to end December with a $20 billion cash balance.
Auctions held in October and those scheduled for next week will raise a total of $25.6 billion. 

The remaining $21.9 billion could be raised through the sale of short-term Treasury bills, two-year notes in November and five-year notes in early December, the Treasury said. 

In the first three months of 1990, the Treasury estimates that it will have to raise between $45 billion and $50 billion, assuming that it decides to aim for a $10 billion cash balance at the end of March. 

