But while small businesses fret, lawmakers in Washington are showing few signs of making progress toward a deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling with less than a month until the Treasury Department says it will be at risk of running out of money to pay all its bills. President Joe Biden and congressional leaders met Tuesday in the Oval Office to discuss how to head off an impending default crisis.
Democrats and Republicans have been at a stalemate over raising the debt limit. Republicans say they are unwilling to raise it without significant spending cuts, which Democrats say shouldn’t be linked to the U.S.’s ability to meet its financial obligations.
The most direct consequence of a default for small businesses would most likely be a significant pullback in bank lending in the chaos expected in financial markets. Banks would be less willing to give businesses loans, and any loans they would…
