NEW YORK, May 12. /TASS/. A default in the US if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling, would be an economic and financial catastrophe, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg published on Friday.

"If Congress fails to do that (to raise debt ceiling - TASS), it really impairs our credit rating," she said. A default would be "an economic and financial catastrophe," Yellen noted. Meanwhile she declined to spell out what her department would do if Congress fails to raise or suspend the debt limit.

The US administration has called on Congress recently to raise the national debt ceiling that is now set at $31.4 trillion. Republicans, who are in control of the House of Representatives, are traditionally skeptical about allowing greater debt and are pushing for reducing government spending.