TIMOTHY GEITHNER: "I think it would make the crisis we just went through look modest in comparison. "

Steve Hess at Moody's Investor Service says if lenders were really worried, they would raise the interest rates they charge on loans to the government.

STEVE HESS: "If you look at the market, it does not seem that the wrangling so far has had a big effect on the government's cost of borrowing. "

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. For news and activities for English learners anytime, go to voaspecialenglish.com. And you can find us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Mario Ritter.

Contributing: Michael Bowman, Lisa Ferdinando, Jim Randle and Dan Robinson