Trump administration announces steps to avoid debt default
Under former President Barack Obama, Republicans often sought to use must-pass legislation to raise the borrowing limit as leverage to force the administration to impose greater controls on spending.
Once the limit goes back into effect, the Treasury Department has the power to employ a variety of bookkeeping maneuvers, such as temporarily reducing investments from civil service pension funds to clear room to allow the government to keep borrowing and paying its bills.
Congress will have to enact an increase in the borrowing limit to avoid the first-ever default on the government's obligations, an event that would send shock waves through global financial markets.