debt ceiling

A year ago, House Speaker John Boehner used a Republican retreat to make peace with the Tea Party caucus. This week's retreat saw Boehner bring up for discussion two divisive issues — the debt ceiling and immigration — with much more self-assurance. Political correspondent David Welna joins NPR's Scott Simon to explain the transformation.

While government shutdowns are messy and disruptive, the country has lived through them before. The U.S. government, on the other hand, has never had to go cold turkey on borrowed money. That's what would happen if Congress doesn't raise the nation's borrowing limit by Oct. 17.