In an effort to avoid defaulting on the nation's loans, lawmakers created updates to SNAP, the nation's largest food assistance safety net. There are new work requirements as well as exemptions.

Debt ceiling dramas have been going on a long time. The first one happened exactly 70 years ago. President Eisenhower asked Congress for an extra $15 billion and the Senate said, "No dice."

Investors are still hopeful that lawmakers will clinch a deal to raise or suspend the debt ceiling. That's because failure to do so could have devastating consequences in markets.

White House chief of staff Jeff Zients says debt limit talks and spending negotiations must be kept separate — despite House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's insistence they be tied together.

If Congress fails to raise the nation's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, the U.S. government could run out of cash between July and September, or even sooner, the Congressional Budget Office said.

The U.S. is undertaking "extraordinary" measures to avoid defaulting on its obligations after the country reached its debt limit on Thursday. Now, a big political fight looms.

The U.S. is expected to hit its debt ceiling Thursday, forcing the Treasury to take "extraordinary measures" to pay off its bills. A political stalemate could lead to an unprecedented federal default.

Lawmakers are juggling must-pass items, like addressing the nation's borrowing authority and an annual defense authorization package, along with major political priorities for Democrats.

The president is calling on Senate Republicans to allow a straight up or down vote on raising the debt ceiling. "If you don't want to help save the country, get out of the way," Biden said.

The short-term spending bill avoids a partial government shutdown, but other major issues, such as suspending the debt limit, remain unresolved.

Democratic leaders tried to make some headway on one of many looming deadlines by advancing a bill to suspend the nation's borrowing limit. But the measure is expected to fail in the Senate.

As the U.S. entered World War I, Congress created a limit on aggregate federal debt and also a cloture rule to end filibusters. The two are linked again in the current battles on Capitol Hill.

The House on Tuesday passed a bill to extend current spending levels through Dec. 3 and suspend the cap on federal debt through 2022. But Senate Republicans oppose it and show no signs of budging.

The Dow Jones slumped over 600 points as financial troubles at property developer China Evergrande Group became the latest in a growing list of concerns for Wall Street.