The Treasury Department has reportedly been asking government agencies about the possibility of making payments later as the White House struggles to negotiate a debt ceiling bill.

Bide administration officials are looking for ways to extend the time they have for negotiations with congressional Republicans, and with less than two weeks left until the government risks failing to pay incoming bills, Treasury officials have been asking agencies about the flexibility of payments coming due before early June, according to the Washington Post.

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Debt ceiling negotiations struggled at the start of the week. There is a renewed sense of urgency in the talks, as the deadline to act is expected to hit sometime in early June, according to the Treasury Department.

The Treasury Department sent a memo to government agencies last week instructing them to take enhanced steps to keep the Treasury well apprised of their spending, according to the report. In the memo, an official directed agencies to tell Treasury at least two days in advance about all deposits and disbursements between $50 million and $500 million, while agencies should notify Treasury five days in advance for payments even greater than that.

“Please stress to your staff the importance of these updates during this time and to ensure that your agency’s reports are accurate,” the memo read. “Your reporting offices should be reconciling reported amounts to actual payment activity to ensure the reliability of these reports during the critical period.”

The White House declined to comment on the report when contacted by the Washington Examiner.

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have been in talks to come up with a deal to raise the limit. Republicans want spending cuts in exchange for a hike.

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Republicans already passed legislation that would raise the debt ceiling over the next year either by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first. But the plan includes items opposed by Senate Democrats.

If the government defaults, it would be a dire situation for the U.S. and world economy. The White House Council of Economic Advisers said that a protracted default would lead to an economic downturn as bad as the Great Recession, with over 8 million people losing their jobs.