Senate to act on debt limit Tuesday ahead of December 15 deadline

The Senate is on track to vote on Tuesday to raise the national debt limit as lawmakers race to avert a catastrophic default ahead of a critical mid-week deadline.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the debt limit could be reached on December 15, leaving Congress little time left to resolve the issue. Once the Senate takes action, the House will next have to approve the same legislation before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. A first-ever default would spark economic disaster and party leaders on both sides of the aisle have made clear it must be prevented.

Republicans, however, have insisted that Democrats should take responsibility for raising the limit and do it on their own. In response to that demand from Republicans, Congress passed legislation last week to create a fast-track process that will allow Democrats to raise the debt limit on their own in the Senate without help from Republicans.