There's A New Drop-Dead Debt Ceiling Date, And House Republicans Finally Have A Plan

Congress needs to raise the nation's debt ceiling by Feb. 27 to avoid potential default on the country's obligations, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned in a letter to congressional leaders on Friday.

It comes as House Republicans are formulating their final plan on the debt limit, according to Politico - involving a "doc fix" on Medicare reimbursement rates and reinstituting some military benefit cuts.

As part of the bill to reopen the government in mid-October, the debt limit was suspended until Friday. The Treasury is now using so-called "extraordinary measures" point to keep borrowing and paying the nation's bills for a few weeks thereafter.

Here's the full letter from Lew: