Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Spear.

Drivers of Resecretary Janet Yellen is churning up the heat on lawmakers to raise the federal

debt ceiling.

NPR Scott Horsley reports Yellen warns the government could run short of money in just

10 days.

Yellen says unless Congress acts to authorize more borrowing, it's highly likely the government

will run short of money to pay its bills in the first half of June, and as early as June

1.

Yellen's new letter to lawmakers doesn't change the timetable for the so-called X-date,

but it adds more urgency as the date gets closer and the Treasury Department has more confidence

in its financial forecast.

The government has tens of billions of dollars in bills coming due in the first few days

of June, including payments to Social Security recipients, Medicare providers, defense contractors,

and veterans.

Any of those payments could be delayed if government coffers run dry before the debt limit

is increased.

Scott Horsley and Pairnews, Washington.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are meeting today to again

discuss the debt ceiling after on-again, off-again talks between negotiators over the weekend,

there are more dire warnings about what failure to reach agreement might mean.

Economists and others say a first-ever U.S. default would send the country crashing into

recession or worse.

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