Investing.com -- If the current suspension of the federal debt limit, also known as the debt ceiling, is not extended past March 15, the U.S. Department of Treasury could run out of cash by "October or November," the Congressional Budget Office warned on Tuesday.
Following a partial shutdown of the Federal Government on October 1, 2013, the Senate passed a continuing resolution nearly two weeks later that suspended the debt ceiling until February, 2014. After another debt limit extension expired on February 7, the Senate passed the Temporary Debt Limit Extension Act five days later. The act suspends the debt ceiling until March 15.
Under the act, the amount of borrowing by the Federal Government that occurred during the suspension is added to the previous debt limit of $17.212 trillion, the CBO said in a statement. Over the last 13 months, the amount of debt has risen to $18.1 trillion, according to the CBO.
If the Treasury Department is unable to fully pay its obligations, it could lead to a delay of payments for government activities or a default on the government debt obligations, the CBO said. The Federal Government shutdown in October, 2013 was its second-longest since 1980.