26 August, 2017
Members of Congress are now on a month-long recess and will return in early September.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday the nation's debt ceiling will be raised in September and that after talks with congressional leaders from both parties everyone is "on the same page".
The BPC adds: "Financial and economic risks grow as the debt limit impasse goes on".
This is not the first time that a mere threat of a debt ceiling breach has led to increased costs for the government.
"What the President said was that his strong preference had been that when they passed the VA bill before they left, that they attached the debt ceiling to that so that we wouldn't be dealing with this in September", Mnuchin said.
The volatility of stock prices shot up and investors started to demand more money to lend to businesses as well.
Debt issued by the U.S. government is generally considered in the market to be risk free and it underlies trillions of dollars worth of financial instruments and transactions.
"We ought to get the debt ceiling done". Conservatives want spending cuts, policy riders or some type of regulatory reform attached to any bill raising the debt ceiling by September 29, when the Treasury Department is scheduled to run out of money to pay the government's bills.
She added that the White House was looking for a "clean" debt ceiling bill - without any legislative add-ons.
Fanning the flames of GOP discord, President Donald Trump accused Republican congressional leaders Thursday of botching efforts to avoid an unprecedented default on the national debt.
"I'm not quite sure I've ever seen a situation where the debt limit and government shutdown come so close together".
Trump said he had advised Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan to link passage of legislation raising the debt ceiling to a bill on veterans affairs that he signed into law on August 12.
Trump said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellMitch McConnellTrump's isolation grows Ellison: Trump has "level of sympathy" for neo-Nazis, white supremacists Trump touts endorsement of second-place finisher in Alabama primary MORE (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul RyanPaul RyanGOP chairman to discuss Charlottesville as domestic terrorism at hearing Trump's isolation grows GOP lawmaker: Trump "failing" in Charlottesville response MORE (R-Wis.) ignored White House entreaties to lump the debt-ceiling hike with popular bipartisan legislation created to help war veterans -- a bill Trump signed into law on Wednesday.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who has been critical of the president, told MSNBC this week it was "too hard to say" if Trump would be the party's presidential nominee in 2020.
"President Trump's apparent commitment to securing funds for the border wall as part of this funding agreement dramatically raises the specter of a shutdown in October", Isaac Boltanksy, an analyst at Compass Point, said in a note Wednesday.
Democrats, solidly opposed to funding the wall, have slammed Trump over his comments.
The growing rift between congressional Republicans and Trump could make it more hard for the White House to advance its agenda.
