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| Hello, OnPolitics readers! |
| Negotiations continued in Congress over lowering the price tag on a budget bill packed with progressive policies as the threat of the first U.S. debt default hangs over Capitol Hill. |
| Democratic divisions on the budget bill are holding up a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. House progressives say they'll vote down the measure if the larger package isn't hashed out first. |
| At the same time, Congress faces the threat of a debt ceiling crisis. Republicans have refused to vote with Democrats to raise the limit on the amount of money the government can borrow to pay its bills. Democrats have proven reluctant to use a maneuver called reconciliation, which would require a majority vote in the Democrat-led Senate, to raise the debt limit without Republican votes. |
| It's Amy with today's top stories. |
The U.S. has never defaulted before. What happens if it does? |
| Democrats staved off one financial emergency last week, averting a government shutdown, but still face the looming debt ceiling crisis. |
| The debt ceiling is the amount of money the U.S. government can borrow to pay its bills. The cap is at $28.4 trillion; the national debt is at $28.43 trillion. |
| An important mid-October deadline: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the U.S. has until Oct. 18 before it faces default. Yellen also warned in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sept. 28 that failure to act on the debt ceiling "could also result in substantial disruptions to financial markets." |
| Experts say it is imperative Congress raise the debt ceiling before a default wreaks havoc. They told USA TODAY no one knows for sure what will happen if Congress doesn't reach a deal, because the U.S. has never defaulted before. |
| What exactly happens if the government runs out of money? William Hoagland, senior vice president of the Bipartisan Policy Center, estimates there is about $2 billion in federal salaries and about $2 billion for Medicare provider benefits that the U.S. probably wouldn't be able to pay on Oct. 18. |
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Real quick: Stories you need to read |
| • | Mayorkas on future migrant situations: Amid reports of thousands of Haitian migrants again heading to the U.S.-Mexico border, the head of the Department of Homeland Security said the administration has learned from the unexpected wave and is prepared for the possibility of additional groups. | | • | DOJ reviewing Nassar case: The Justice Department is reconsidering its decision not to prosecute former FBI agents in the botched investigation of disgraced former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar, who sexually abused dozens of young athletes and women in his care. | | • | Reelection "revenge"? Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham warns that if former President Donald Trump is reelected to a second term, "he will be about revenge." | | • | 0.08 mile: No need to lose yourself over this news. Our fact check team debunked claims online of a "driving tax" costing eight cents per mile. The $1.2 trillion infrastructure package in Congress would not levy a new mileage-based tax. | |
Facebook whistleblower tells the Senate that the company made 'disastrous' choices, prioritized profit |
| Frances Haugen, who raised alarms about several of the company's business practices testified Tuesday before Congress after a series of incriminating revelations about the company. |
| She wants the company to do more than "ending Finstas." Haugen, a former project manager at Facebook who leaked a massive trove of internal documents to the Wall Street Journal, told a Senate subcommittee that Facebook "put their astronomical profits before people" and asked for congressional action to rein in the tech giant. |
| "We can have social media we enjoy that connects us without tearing our democracy apart, putting our children in danger, and sowing ethnic violence around the world," Haugen said. |
| What exactly did Haugen reveal about the social media company? The documents Haugen released unearthed several explosive revelations about the company's tactics in the pursuit of growth, including bids to market its products directly to children, documents underscoring the severity of the platform's public health misinformation crisis and internal research that found its Instagram platform is destructive to young girls' mental health. |
| Speaking of Facebook, don't forget to follow @usatodaypolitics on Instagram for more news coverage out of Washington. — Amy |
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