The fight over the nation’s debt limit has been brewing in Congress for months and is now ramping up. On Sunday, several Democratic lawmakers called on Republicans to stop using the cap as a bargaining chip for the GOP’s broader efforts to cut social safety net spending, a negotiating strategy that could threaten the US economy and Americans’ finances. Last week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) introduced a bill that would raise the debt limit in exchange for drastic cuts to federal expenditures—forcing government agencies to stick to 2022 spending levels, despite record inflation.