(Bloomberg) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she’ll be updating Congress “within the next day or two” on how long lawmakers have to raise or suspend the debt limit before the government runs out of cash.

“We may be able to get past Dec. 3rd, we may have the resources to do that, but not a great deal of time after that,” Yellen said in an interview with National Public Radio that was taped on Monday.

To avoid cash running out, the Treasury uses so-called “extraordinary measures” since last month. This month, the Treasury stated that $182 billion was left over from $369 billion.

Legislators passed a temporary increase to the debt limit in December to allow enough time to meet a Dec. 3 deadline for annual federal funding. Yellen indicated that the legislation would enable the government’s ability to pay its bills up until December 3. The dates are subject to change based on the Treasury Department’s flows of spending and revenue.

“I’ll shortly be issuing new guidance about what we’ve learned since that time about how long they can go,” Yellen said.

Treasuries Reaction

The plan of Congress’ leaders for addressing the ceiling is not yet in place.

Yields on Treasury bills maturing at the end of the year rose after Yellen’s comments, with investors demanding slightly higher interest rates around Dec. 28 and Dec. 30.

After a few Republicans had voted for the short-term $480 billion increase to the ceiling in October, Republicans want to make it harder on Democrats. Democrats demand that bipartisan support be given to a long-term resolution, similar to what has happened in the past.

Yellen calls for a bipartisan vote in order to fix the debt limit. But she also suggests that Democrats may consider raising it through the reconciliation process. This bypasses both the Senate filibuster (and thus the need for GOP support).

“I strongly believe that it is a bipartisan responsibility to do this,” Yellen said on Nov. 1. “There is a way for Democrats to do it entirely on their own,” she added, “and I know that will be one of the ways — through reconciliation — that the leadership will be considering.”

High-Risk Default

If the Treasury runs out of cash the U.S. would be in default of its financial obligations. Yellen warns that employees and federal contractors will not get paid, and Social Security checks may be stopped. Unless their payments were prioritized, investors in Treasury securities wouldn’t receive interest payments or get back their principal on maturing bills, notes and bonds. 

Yellen and Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chair, and other economists warned that even a temporary default could cause credit market chaos and increase borrowing costs. This would also damage U.S. reputation around the globe. Yellen stated repeatedly that a recession is possible.

The deadline for Congress to avoid a federal shutdown is in the coming weeks. The funding of agencies has been provided by the temporary stopgap budget appropriations bill from the beginning of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. A new so-called continuing resolution will likely be in place after Dec. 3rd.

(Updates starting from the fifth paragraph with additional Yellen remarks.

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