The Debt Limit And The Senate's Cloture Share A History. Both Were Born With A War

The federal fiscal year ends this week, and once again Congress is scrambling to get its act together. And as the prospect of government shutdown looms, so does the wilder prospect of the government running out of cash and defaulting on its debt.

As always, political differences and partisan wars make the money process difficult. But two key elements of procedure also feature in the showdown, raising the stakes and defining the battlefield.

One is the debt limit. The other are the Senate rules that allow the minority party to stop legislation cold.

The two are intertwined at this moment because the debt limit, suspended three times during the Trump administration, has passed its latest suspension date. The Treasury Department has for weeks been using "extraordinary measures" to cover the checks it writes and also honor bonds that come due.

Without a green light from Congress to borrow more money, the Treasury will be unable to continue this