President Obama admits deficit-reduction impasse could prevent retirees from receiving Social Security checks on August 3

President Obama took part in an interview with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley to announce that the deficit-reduction impasse may result in retirees not receiving their Social Security checks next month.

“I cannot guarantee that those checks go out on August 3rd if we haven’t resolved this issue,” he said. “Because there may simply not be the money in the coffers to do it.”

Obama acknowledged that roughly 70 million checks are scheduled to go out to Social Security recipients, including veterans and those with disabilities.

Congressional leaders are under substantial pressure to come to an agreement on a long-term deficit reduction plan, as economics are forecasting an economic catastrophe if a U.S. default occurs.

Obama told Pelley that failing to raise the debt limit would result in “a crisis of confidence in the markets, and suddenly interest rates are going up significantly, and everybody is paying higher interest rates on their car loans, on their mortgages, on their credit cards, and that’s sucking up a whole bunch of additional money out of the pockets of the American people.”

The president’s comments were made public just hours after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested that a “real solution is probably unattainable” while Obama is in office.