The Treasury Department says that if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling by August 2, the federal government won't be able to pay its debts - a move that AEI's Ornstein says could send the still-weak economy off the cliff.

 

"I'm just not so sure this time that we get a deal until after we cross the Rubicon and actually see a breach in the debt limit," Ornstein told CBS News.

 

There is some talk in Congress of a so-called "mini deal," that would take what's on the table that both sides agree on and extend the debt limit for a year or so. But the White House doesn't like that, says Plante, because they feel any deal like that would cost them leverage.

 

Video: Congress using "mini-deal" to delay debt ceiling compromise