WASHINGTON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Detroit will have to work with its creditors to resolve its recently-declared bankruptcy, said U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew Sunday in an interview with the CNN.
"Detroit's got serious financial problems. They've been a long time in the making. We stand with Detroit and have been working with them," Lew said on the CNN's "State of the Union."
Pressed on whether the federal government would help through a bailout, Lew said, "We stand with Detroit and we, through the normal federal programs, will continue to work with them."
Asked about why the government wouldn't bail out the auto city after it bailed out the big banks and the auto industry in the financial crisis, Lew noted that the bank bailout happened at a time when the entire U.S. economy was in freefall.
"I think the situation in 2009-2010 was unique. And it's something that hopefully we never see again," Lew said.
Talking about the debt ceiling, Lew said the Treasury has been using extraordinary measures since May to pay the bills and will "do that for as long as we can."
Meanwhile, he cautioned there's a great deal of danger of trying to pinpoint the exact date when the contingent measures will be exhausted, and the Congress shouldn't wait till the last minute. "They should just raise the debt limit and take away any cloud of uncertainty about the ability of the United States to pay its bills."
Lew also said the core of the U.S. economy is showing signs of health and what the American people need is for Washington to do its work, to stop creating crises and to concentrate on the priorities the president has laid out.
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