Senate Republicans voted unanimously Monday to block a House-approved bill that would fund the federal government and raise the ceiling on the national debt. The vote came just days before a September 30 deadline to avert a government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans’ actions were threatening to plunge the U.S. into a recession.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: “Our country is staring down the barrel of two totally Republican-manufactured disasters: a government shutdown and a first-ever default on the national debt. The impacts of both would gravely harm every single American in this country.”
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has notified Congress that unless it acts before mid-October to raise the debt ceiling, the U.S. government will default on its debts.