Congressional Democrats face daunting December to-do list

Lawmakers returning from a weeklong recess lack the bipartisan agreement needed to keep the government funded past a Dec. 3 deadline and raise the nation’s borrowing limit by Dec. 15, when Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned her department would run out of money to repay loans.

The two deadlines come ahead of a Christmas target Senate Democrats set for themselves to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion social welfare and green energy spending bill unilaterally, even as a pair of centrist party lawmakers may not fully support the passage.