US senators agree to extend debt ceiling to avoid default

U. S. Senators have agreed to extend the debt ceiling, less than two weeks before it was due to be reached. There were fears that the U. S. would default on its national debt, with catastrophic financial implications.

Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer said Congress had reached a deal to extend the debt ceiling until early December. Republican Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell said: “Republican and Democratic members and staff negotiated through the night in good faith.”

The temporary debt compromise will need to be passed by both chambers of Congress. The Congress will still have to address this issue near the new December deadline to avert a default, creating a headache right around the holidays.
The agreement comes less than two weeks before 18 October, the day the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned was the deadline to prevent the first ever US default. The US debt currently stands at around $28tn (£21tn).