The US vice president has warned that debt defaults could trigger a recession

US Vice President Kamala Harris and top White House economic adviser Lael Brainard said on Thursday that defaulting on the US$31.4 trillion debt could push the US economy into recession.

In a conference call with Democratic activists, Harris and Brainard urged them to reach out to lawmakers to voice opposition to the debt default, which could happen within two weeks.

Harris used the conference to focus on the immediacy of default, while President Joe Biden spends the next few days in Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) summit.

“Debt defaults will trigger recessions,” the vice president said.

White House negotiators and congressional Republicans met again on Capitol Hill to find common ground on raising the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. They plan to meet again on Friday, a White House official said.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Washington should be ready to return to Washington 24 hours before recess next week if he needs to vote.

The Democratic senator said, “I’m glad the other side recognizes that bipartisan legislation is the best way to get enough votes to pass both the House (Representatives) and the Senate.”

Brainard, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, said Biden’s negotiating team was instructed not to agree to any Republican proposal to raise the debt ceiling that would strip Americans of health care or push any of them into poverty.

Threatening to default on the government, Republicans are trying to persuade Democrats to accept tougher work requirements and spending cuts for some federal aid programs in exchange for raising the cap.