The federal government will not need to shut down and could find ways to pay its obligations even if the debt ceiling is reached before a law is passed to raise it, congressional researchers told lawmakers at a recent briefing.

The Congressional Research Service briefing and two reports provided by Congress' investigative arm suggest the government could potentially limp along after Aug. 2, the date by which Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says Washington has to raise the debt ceiling or face the possibility of default.

One CRS report outlined several options for paying the bills should the Treasury Department run out of ways to avoid crossing the $14.3 trillion threshold. The department currently is tapping federal retirement funds and using other maneuvers to keep U.S. finances in the safe zone, but those tactics are only short term. CRS suggested that if Treasury exhausts those alternatives, the federal government could buy more time by making smart decisions about which bills to pay first...