Democrats and the GOP have reached a deal that will increase the debt ceiling for the short term, preventing the country from defaulting on its bills.
“I have some good news,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the Senate floor Thursday morning. “We have reached an agreement to extend the debt ceiling through early December, and it’s our hope that we can get this done as soon as today.”
Details of the deal were not immediately announced. Republicans had previously offered to waive the cap for the debt ceiling to a specific number, rather than suspending it.
The deal lets officials avert what could have been a catastrophic crisis on Oct. 18, when Janet Yellen warned the Treasury would run out of cash.
A default on the debt ceiling would have meant a possible delay in social security checks, federal workers not receiving their paychecks and, according to Moody’s, a drop in stock prices by as much as one-third.
The U.S. has never before defaulted on its debt. Economists warned that doing so would likely lead the country into a recession and would send financial markets into a chaotic state.
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