"Debt Limit Standoff Threatens US Economy and Citizens"
The Federal Reserve is facing a difficult decision on whether to continue raising interest rates amidst a standoff between President Biden and Republicans in Congress over raising the nation's debt limit. Failure to raise the borrowing cap could cause a financial crisis of "historic proportion" and a sharp economic contraction that would leave millions of Americans facing unemployment. The Fed has insisted that it is up to Congress to act to raise the $31.4 trillion debt limit, and Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, warned earlier this year that failing to do so would inflict long-term damage to the U.S. economy.