The U.S. Congress is locked in a standoff that risks triggering a financial and economic meltdown if lawmakers don't raise a limit on government borrowing before Oct. 18, the day the U.S. Treasury could run out of cash for paying government bills.
The drama's central players are Senator Mitch McConnell, who leads the Republican minority in the Senate and has vowed to obstruct normal legislative efforts to raise the debt ceiling, and Senator Chuck Schumer, leader of the chamber's Democratic majority and an ally of President Joe Biden.Schumer has twice tried to win approval of a debt ceiling increase under regular legislative procedures and is set to try again on Wednesday.
If Schumer's attempt on Wednesday fails, as expected, the Democrat could switch to using an arcane legislative process known as reconciliation. That bypasses the filibuster and Democrats would only need a simple majority to win.
In the past, a minority party has often used the debate as leverage to pass other legislative priorities, such as deficit reduction. On Monday, McConnell has said his party has no demands and merely wants Democrats to use the reconciliation process.
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