U.S. Senate's Schumer to bring up House-passed bill raising debt limit as soon as next week

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Thursday he will ask the Senate to consider a House-passed bill raising the nation's debt limit "as early as next week."

Senate Republicans have twice this week blocked a bid by President Joe Biden's Democrats to head off a potentially crippling U.S. credit default, as partisan tensions rattled an economy recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.

With federal government funding due to expire on Thursday and borrowing authority set to run out around Oct. 18, Democrats who narrowly control the Senate and the House of Representatives are working to head off twin fiscal disasters -- a debt default and a government shutdown -- while also trying to advance Biden's ambitious legislative agenda.

Republicans say the Democrats should raise the debt ceiling themselves, since they are the majority party, while Democrats say it should be a bipartisan effort.

The House on Wednesday approved a measure raising the debt limit through the end of 2022.

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; editing by Jonathan Oatis)