The consequences of failing to raise the debt ceiling are astronomical and could cause the government to miss payments on its debt once it runs out of funds through the “extraordinary measures”

If Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, the United States is expected to default on its bills in either August or September, the Congressional Budget Office warned.

The U.S. government will probably risk defaulting on some of its $36.6 trillion in debt as soon as August - or possibly even by late May - unless Congress acts to raise the nation's debt ceiling, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office forecast on Wednesday.