Government Shutdown 2015 News: Mitch McConnell Promises to Prevent Government Shutdown Amid Mounting Debt Woes

Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has pledged not to allow a shutdown of the U.S. government that may happen if it defaults payment of its national debt after exhausting its borrowing authority resulting from its debt ceiling having reached its limit.

"The debt ceiling will be handled over a period of months," McConnell said on CBS "Face the Nation" TV program on Sunday.

"The secretary of the Treasury has what we call a number of tools in his toolbox. I made it very clear after the November (2014) election we're certainly not going to shut down the government or default on the national debt," he said.

The U.S. government is expected to exhaust its borrowing authority around March 15, but it can take emergency steps to continue paying its bills, according to Reuters.

In a letter to Speaker John Boehner dated March 6, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said "beginning on Monday, March 16, the outstanding debt of the United States will be at the statutory limit." Congress passed the Temporary Debt Limit Extension Act in February last year that suspended the statutory debt limit until March 15 this year.

Lew said if there is no increase in debt limit, his department will have to take extraordinary measures to continue to finance the government on a temporary basis.

"On Friday, March 13, Treasury will suspend, until further notice, the issuance of State and Local Government Series (SLGS) securities," he said in the letter. "SLGS are special-purpose Treasury securities issued to states and municipalities to assist them in conforming to certain tax rules."

He said when Treasury issues the SLGS, this count against the debt limit.

Lew clarified that "increasing the debt limit does not authorize new spending commitments."

"It simply allows the government to pay for expenditures Congress has already approved, thereby protecting the full faith and credit of the United States," he said. "I hope that Congress will address this matter without controversy or brinksmanship."

"Accordingly, I respectfully ask Congress to raise the debt limit as soon as possible," he said.

In response, McConnell said, "we'll figure some way to handle that."

He said he hoped a debt limit extension "might carry some other important legislation that we can agree on in connection with it."