(CNN) Republican and Democratic leaders from the House and Senate will meet again Wednesday and try to find a way out of a spending crisis that could cripple Washington in the fall, trigger $125 billion in automatic spending cuts and send the stock market tumbling.

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, White House officials and appropriators meet Wednesday afternoon, there will be fewer than 50 legislative days before the spending deadline.

In Washington, three months may be akin to an eternity for negotiations, but fresh off a partial but history-making January government shutdown , with animosity between House Democrats and the administration in clear view, and President Donald Trump looming as the constant legislative wild card, the meeting signals an attempt to stave off an avoidable showdown and debt ceiling debacle that would leave both Republicans and Democrats politically damaged and the country reeling from their showdown.

"I don't know if there is any goodwill, but there is mutual self-interest so I hope they can find it," Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican from Missouri and member of leadership, told CNN about the odds for an agreement.

The meeting Wednesday will focus on raising the budget caps for both domestic and military spending. Without an agreement, automatic budget cuts from 2011 would go into effect, a result that both Republicans and Democrats agree could devastate government programs and paralyze the military. Ahead of the meeting, Sen. Dick Shelby, the Alabama Republican and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he called Pelosi on Saturday arguing it was time to "get together"

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