11.  Without the measure, the administration would be forced to dip into civil-service pension funds or take other extraordinary action to stave off an unprecedented government default.

12.  The government has been operating close to the debt ceiling since November, using extraordinary actions taken by Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to avert an unprecedented default.

13.  The government has been operating close to the debt ceiling since November, using extraordinary actions taken by the Treasury to avert an unprecedented default.