The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has warned that the US could face an economic catastrophe as early as the first two weeks of June if Congress fails to raise the debt

ceiling. The CBO projected that there is "significant risk" that the government could default on its debt obligations if the debt ceiling is not raised or suspended before the Treasury's cash and extraordinary measures are exhausted.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had previously issued a warning that the country could default as soon as June 1 without congressional intervention. Despite attempts by President Joe Biden to reach an agreement with top congressional leaders, Republicans and Democrats are still sparring over how to avert the crisis.

If the government defaults, it could trigger a recession on par with the Great Recession, with the loss of nearly a million jobs and a mild recession by the end of the year, according to Moody's Analytics. It would also cost Americans tens of thousands in retirement savings and make student-loan and mortgage payments more costly.

The majority of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have stated that defaulting on the nation's debt is not an option, and Congress needs to act to ensure the government can continue paying its bills. However, progress in negotiations has been slow, and the meeting scheduled for Friday between top lawmakers and President Biden was postponed to give staffers more time to chat on potential areas of compromise. Photo by US Department of the Treasury, Wikimedia commons.