President Barack Obama formally notified Congress today that that the
government needs more borrowing authority.
The written certification to raise the debt ceiling to $16.394 trillion
starts a 15-day clock for Congress to consider and vote on a joint resolution
disapproving of the increase.
Under legislation passed Aug. 2 after months of wrangling between
the
administration and Republican lawmakers, the president is given
the
power to veto any disapproval resolution that clears both chambers
of
Congress.
The law calls for Obama to notify Congress when the debt came within $100
billion of the current $15.194 trillion limit.
While the threshold was reached Dec. 30, when the president was in
Hawaii
and Congress was on holiday break, Obama agreed to a request
from
congressional leaders to delay the notification request, ensuring
the
deadline for congressional action didn’t lapse before lawmakers
returned
to Washington.
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