Political | Process

Democrats may be forced to suspend the debt limit on their own, potentially as part of their up to $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill.

• The House-passed legislation would have funded the government into December and suspended the U.S. debt ceiling into December of next year, after the midterm congressional elections.

• Lawmakers need to approve government funding before Friday to avoid a shutdown. The U.S. risks default if Congress doesn’t raise the debt ceiling by a point that is likely to come in October, according to the Treasury Department.

• After every House Republican opposed the measure, the Senate GOP also refused to help Democrats suspend the debt limit. In a 48-50 vote, all Republican senators opposed advancing the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., voted no as a procedural move so he can bring up the bill again later.

• Democrats now have to pull off a daunting series of maneuvers to avoid a sequence of events that could ravage the economy and cost millions of Americans their jobs. The Republican opposition may force them to pass a short-term funding bill with GOP support, then approve a debt limit suspension on their own potentially as part of their up to $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation plan.

SOURCE: CNBC