But analysts say the damage is already done.

"If you're a business and you are about to hire 100 new employees but are not sure what is going to happen with the debt ceiling, you're going to wait until the situation has passed. So as Congress is bickering, it's really kind of like pulling back the reins on the horse and not letting the horse run," said financial adviser Frank Reilly.

The last budget battle in 2011 resulted in the first credit downgrade of U.S. debt.

Although investors continued to buy U.S. bonds, Marc Goldwein at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says another downgrade could damage U.S. credibility.

"A downgrade from 'Triple A' to 'Double A' by itself doesn't usually have that much of an effect. It's basically saying instead of your bonds being really good, it's very good. That's basically how they qualify it. The danger is - what about the next downgrade, and the next one?," Goldwein said.

House Speaker John Boehner admits the consequences of not increasing the debt limit are real, but he says - so too are the consequences of allowing the country's spending to go unchecked.