[someone123]

Yeah, my impression was that they can still make interest payments regardless of whether or not the debt ceiling is raised.

The real issue seems to be that the US in general (politicians and voters) are nowhere near the point of accepting magnitude of sacrifices necessary to reduce deficits and the debt. There's also a risk that any fix will be seriously unbalanced in terms of who accepts the burden of increased costs and lower service levels. Wealth distribution in the US is already poor and there is a growing Third World-style underclass that doesn't seem to be able to support itself.