what could happen if congress does not vote to raise the debt ceiling 
according to u s treasury secretary janet yellen failure to meet the government s obligations would cause irreparable harm to the u s economy the livelihood of all americans and global financial stability she also mentioned that the u s would risk facing another credit rating downgrade similar to that of 2011 11once the debt ceiling is reached what spending will be cut in a letter to the u s house of representatives yellen warned congressional leaders that the treasury would implement extraordinary measures to prevent the u s from defaulting on its obligations in the past the treasury has suspended new investments in the civil service retirement and disability fund and the postal service retiree health benefits fund it also suspended reinvestment of the government securities investment fund of the federal employees retirement system thrift savings plan 11 keep in mind that every debt ceiling debate cycle is unique and may be resolved using unique measures 