This archive report was first published on 7 October 2021.
Published on October 7, 2021, Senate leaders reached a deal to allow the debt ceiling to be raised through early December, averting a potential default on the national debt.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced the agreement, which would boost the legal debt cap by $480 billion, allowing the government to continue borrowing through December 3.
The current debt limit is $28.4 trillion, set since August 1. The deal sets up another deadline for the first Friday in December, when government funding is set to lapse if Congress does not approve new spending legislation.
However, the agreement does not address the underlying partisan stalemate over the debt ceiling. Republicans have not dropped their demand that Democrats use the reconciliation process to lift the debt ceiling into next year.
Democrats have refused to use the reconciliation process, citing its time-consuming nature and arguing that Republicans should help accommodate debt stemming from policies approved by both parties.
