'Clock is ticking': Lawmakers return to Washington facing fast-approaching debt limit 'X-date'
If lawmakers don't reach a deal before the "X-date," the U.S. would default for the first time in history. As lawmakers return Monday from recess, they are staring down a fast-approaching deadline to address the debt limit or risk an unprecedented default. The United States reached its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit back in January and is now relying on "extraordinary measures" to keep the government fully funded and avoid what would be an economically catastrophic default. When exactly those measures will run out -- dubbed the "X-date" -- is a moving target, experts told ABC News, though it could happen as early as this summer. "The clock is ticking," said Rachel Snyderman, the senior associate director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center, which predicts the U.S. will be unable to meet its financial obligations at some point in the "summer or early fall." MORE: US reaches debt limit amid showdown and 'extraordin...