USA: Lawmakers scramble to reach compromise as U.S. debt ceiling deal deadline approaches

Record ID: 859899

  • Title: USA: Lawmakers scramble to reach compromise as U.S. debt ceiling deal deadline approaches
  • Date: 16th October 2013
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 16, 2013) (REUTERS) U.S. CAPITOL EXTERIOR SHORTLY AFTER SUNRISE NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 16, 2013) (REUTERS) VIEW OF NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK
  • Embargoed: 31st October 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • City:
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: General,Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA2O84TC6ETWIG216OLXAJYR99D
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  • Story Text: The U.S. Senate prepared for a last ditch effort Wednesday (October 16) to avoid a historic lapse in the government's borrowing authority, a breach that President Barack Obama has said could lead to default and deliver a damaging blow to the global economy.
    After a day of stop-and-go negotiations, the top Democrat and Republican in the U.S. Senate were said to be close to agreeing on a proposal to raise the debt limit - and reopen the partially shuttered government - for consideration by the full Senate on Wednesday.
    The measure's fate remained uncertain in the fractured Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which failed twice Tuesday to produce its own plan.
    U.S. Senate aides said after a chaotic day of negotiations on Tuesday that an agreement to lift the government's $16.7 trillion borrowing limit was near, although final details still needed to be worked out.
    If Washington does not reach a deal by Thursday, the U.S. government will by law no longer be able to add to the national debt, and will have to rely on incoming revenue and about $30 billion in cash to pay the country's many obligations.
    That money is expected to run out quickly and it would start missing payments in the weeks ahead. A global financial crisis could follow if investors decided that U.S. debt, used as collateral for trillions of dollars in financial deals, no longer provided adequate security.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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