Obama to seek $1.2T debt limit increase this week

President Obama speaks from the White House briefing room when a deal to raise the debt limit was reached on July 31, 2011.

/ AP/Jacquelyn Martin

HONOLULU -- It seems like the U.S. government just went through a debt limit crisis, but if you check the numbers, you'll find that Uncle Sam is running out of money again and will need to borrow more. Lots more.

The Treasury Department put out word today that by the close of business on Friday, President Obama will have certified to Congress that the National Debt is within $100 billion of the debt limit and must be raised again: up $1.2 trillion to $16.394 trillion - the highest in U.S. history.

Today's numbers show that since the debt limit was last raised less than five months ago on August 2nd, the National Debt has soared another $648 billion.

Under the provisions of the Budget Control Act enacted this year, once the president makes his certification, Congress would have 15 days to pass a resolution of disapproval on raising the debt limit. But that would only serve to send the U.S. Treasury toward another borrowing crisis that would likely result in its credit rating being downgraded once again.

If Congress does not vote a resolution of disapproval after receiving the president's notice on December 30th, then the debt limit would increase by $1.2 trillion on January 14th.

The Treasury Department calculates that once the debt limit is raised next month, it will not have to be raised again until late in the year. Yes, after the presidential election.

Here are the key numbers you may want to carry in your wallet (discretion advised before show to small children or adults with heart conditions):

CBSNews.com special report: America's debt battle

Mark Knoller is covering President Obama's vacation visit to Hawaii.

[walkerneb60]

Well why not. The national debt has us all buried alive. The Federal Government takes our money and our rights away daily. Mr. President, and I use that term loosely, can not or will not get spending cut down. He wants to raise the debt limit 1.2 trillion dollars. None of the so call elected officials have done us any good this term. Now Obama wants to give them all a raise. I say NO. We the people should make that decision at this time not a lame duck President. A President that pushed a so called health reform through that has done nothing but cost we the people more money, and also give the insurance companies the opening to rape us on health insurance. No to the raise for federal employees. We need to get this country back in stride and paying down the national debt, get the 23 million people that are unemployed back to work, make Obama's want for a bigger government totally the opposite (smaller). Who does he think he is kidding. I voted for him in 2008, but I will NOT vote for Obama again. Obama needs to pay attention to the issues that are dragging this country down in to the gutter. Cut off the borders to any immigration, send all of the illegals back to where they came from because we the citizens of the United States are tired of paying taxes that go to the illegal aliens, get WE THE CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES, back to work. Stop trying to take the attention off of the real issues instead of taking care of them. In my opinion Mr. Obama is the worse President that I have seen in my lifetime. In my opinion he is a Socialist and wants that kind of control. WE THE PEOPLE NEED TO GET BACK OUR CONTROL OF THIS COUNTRY. Social Security...... Where is that money that they took for my retirement? Even if Social Security is bankrupt when I retire, that money is still owed to all that paid it. But Mr. President wants to raise the debt limit and give all federal workers a raise. I SAY NO @!#$ WAY.

[overtax]

With the national debt now as high as GDP, there is no where to go but down.
Obama learned his political magic here in Illinois, where just last week the state
credit rating was downgraded, to the lowest in the country. 85 billion in unfunded pension liabilities.
As a country we need to change the entitlement programs now. Any day the fight about
this middle class tax cut will start again, this is money that was to fund social security.
If you want to really help everyone in the country, oil production is a big step. Drilling
will create jobs, flood the market with oil lowering gas prices and in turn, helping business
with lower fuel charges. But no we have to pay political games with one pipeline, and
the only other solution is stimulating the housing market and all efforts so far have FAILED.

[aupdike]

NO NO NO NO NO. I'm broke dangit, stop it!

[fergusfinbar]

No help from congress? So what when the dems were in charge they couldnt pass a budget then either, whats your point?

[fergusfinbar]

Yeah, California is wallowing in debt. California is #1 in welfare. As far as the Bush tax cuts, when Obama extended them they became Obama's tax cuts.

[raymailhot]

When does it end? We haven't seen a budget that defines an end from this presidency.

What can the American people do to end this budgetary nightmare?

[dlaldhkTtmq]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zXKV78VERio" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[dlaldhkTtmq]

http://youtu.be/zXKV78VERio

[morsecode5]

Oh please. AMerica has the money. After all, we wouldn't be able to support the terrorists without it would we?

[fxr60]

If we don't get Obama out of there we will be Greece!! He has spent more money than ALL THE PRESIDENTS since George Washington! Solyndra-$535 Million wasted, cash for clonkers, his buddy and job czar Jeff Immelt planning to move its 115 yr.old Xray division from Waukesha, Wis. to Beijing and will invest $2 BILLION IN CHINA and train 65 engineers and create 6 research center-this is the same GE that made $5.1 BILLION in the U.S. and paid NO TAXES LAST YEAR!!! I guess Obama forgot to tell him which country he was suppose to be creating jobs!! Maybe the 3-4$ MILLION that we the taxpayers are paying for his Hawaii vacation will help him to clear his head! As a reporter from England wrote: Considering the economy of the USA now, you would think that the Obama's would choose Camp David or Chicago to spend a vacation. Must be nice to be in the 1% !!!!

[BlameRepublicanz]

is this seriously all you folks have? The Hawaii vacation? ITS HIS HOME STATE! He's not allowed to go home for Christmas? Where did you get this 4 million number? THE VACATION ISNT EVEN OVER YET!! You idiots were throwing around the 4 million number before it even happened...how the HELL can you know how much it will cost before it has ended! sounds like another BS story from the right...just like the "250 million dollar a day" trip to India