A default on the nation's debt may not be inevitable on the June 1 "X-date" if Congress fails to resolve the debt ceiling deadlock, the co-chairs of the House Problem Solvers' Caucus suggested.

Co-Chairs of the caucus, Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said that there may be a few extra days before the projected deadline of when the United States truly runs out of cash to meet all its obligations, but underscored the need to not be complacent.

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“I do agree with Josh; we should assume the date is June the 1st. But I think the math tells us that there is a little bit of wiggle room,” Fitzpatrick told CBS’s Face the Nation before cautioning that a prolonged fight could spook markets. "If you go back to 2011, about nine days before the 'X' date was when our credit rating got downgraded."

Shortly after Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling after a protracted battle, several credit ratings agencies, including Standard & Poor's, downgraded the nation's credit rating from an outstanding AAA to an excellent AA+. Some fear this current debt ceiling crisis could trigger a similar downgrade.

"It's the risk of the downgrade that we've got to worry about, which is why it's incredibly time-sensitive," Fitzpatrick added. "I do believe that the president and the speaker legitimately respect each other. I believe they legitimately do want to come to a conclusion here."

The United States ran up against its $31.4 trillion debt limit on its borrowing authority back in January. Given that Congress's allocated spending features a gaping deficit, the Treasury Department has undergone "extraordinary" measures to keep cash flowing to critical programs.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen forecasted those means will be extinguished as soon as June 1, meaning the government will not be able to meet all its obligations. Top of mind is the interest payments on the debt, though Yellen appeared to suggest the Treasury may attempt to prioritize that spending if Congress blows past the "X date."

Gottheimer argued Congress should operate under the assumption June 1 is the "X date" even "if we have a few more days" and underscored "we can't continue to play chicken."

Earlier this year, the Problem Solvers' Caucus, a bipartisan group in the House, endorsed a framework to address the crisis by temporarily suspending the debt ceiling and establishing a commission to create solutions to the nation's budgetary problems. That proposal has gained little traction.

"What's most important for right now is making sure we get a deal that's reasonable enough that you can get Democrats and Republicans — a big enough swath to agree in the House," Gottheimer said. "Whatever we come up with has to be reasonable."

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President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) are set to meet Monday following a phone call during the president's return flight from the Group of Seven summit in Japan Sunday.

Negotiations between their representatives over the weekend deteriorated at times and appear to have yielded little, if any, progress.