The pressure on lawmakers to strike a budget deal became even heavier Monday as the U.S. government bumped up against its $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, triggering a string of last-resort measures from the Treasury Department to keep the country from going into default.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner formally notified Congress Monday morning that the government would reach the statutory debt limit, forcing his department to suspend investments to two government employee retirement funds and "redeem a portion" of prior investments, a move the department claims will not affect federal workers.

The soft debt-ceiling deadline comes and goes as lawmakers from both parties continue to meet with White House officials in hopes of reaching a deficit-reduction agreement. Both sides say they're ready to deal, but they disagree over how much and what to cut. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., told "Fox News Sunday" that lawmakers have reached agreement on "small-ball" areas, but "there's probably $2 trillion in savings that we've got to achieve in order to really get a handle on our out-of-control spending." Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., author of Republicans' original budget proposal, plans to deliver an address on his ideas Monday afternoon...