Obama notifies Congress of debt limit hike

By: Mark Knoller
Topics: Economy ,; Congress

President Barack Obama.

(Credit: Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON - With the government in need of more money to borrow, President Obama on Thursday formally notified Congress that the debt limit needs to be raised again.

Under the terms of the so-called Budget Control Act enacted last year, Mr. Obama is authorized to increase the debt limit by another $1.2 trillion. That would provide the U.S. Treasury with the authority it needs to run up additional debt through borrowing.

The president's notification starts a 15-day countdown clock during which time Congress may vote for a resolution of disapproval to raising the debt limit.

Even if such a measure were passed, however, Mr. Obama could veto the bill, confident that the opposition does not likely have the votes to override him.

A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner was quick to slam Mr. Obama for seeking to increase the debt limit again.

"Washington's mounting debt is a drag on our economic recovery, and this request is another reminder that the President has consistently punted on the tough choices needed to rein in the deficit and protect important programs for American seniors from going bankrupt," said Brendan Buck in a statement emailed to reporters.

All the notification to Congress does is provide presidential certification that the debt subject to limit is now within $100-billion of the limit "and that further borrowing is required to meet existing commitments."

Actually, the debt subject to limit is just $25 million short of the debt limit and has been for several days. The Treasury is taking steps to prevent the debt from crashing through the debt limit until the limit is increased.

Mr. Obama originally intended to send notification to Congress two weeks ago, but heeded a request from Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to delay the notice so members of Congress would not have to be called back to Washington before they were scheduled.

As of this writing, the debt subject to limit stands at $15,193,975,000,000 (that's more than $15 trillion.) And the debt limit holds at $15.194 trillion. Just $25 million separates the two figures.

When the debt limit is increased by $1.2 trillion to $16.394 trillion, Treasury experts expect it to meet U.S. government borrowing needs through the remainder of 2012, certainly past the November presidential elections. Mr. Obama insisted on that provision during the contentious negotiations last summer over raising the limit. He did not want another debt limit fight just weeks before voters decide if he gets a second term.

Mark Knoller
Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent.
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by raymailhot January 16, 2012 8:00 AM EST: The tea party is to be ignored and democrats embrace the ows.

Lets see:

The primary stand of the tea party is they want to control spending. They represent the 53% that pay taxes.

The primary stand of the ows is to destroy the 53% that pay taxes. They represent the insane!; Reply to this comment


by wfw3536 January 13, 2012 2:49 PM EST: Sure just keep spending money we do not have, and soon we will be facing another downgrade of our credit rating like France is today. Obama is the first president to see our rating reduced from a AAA and soon it will go down more. What some folks do not get is this will hurt everyone with higher interests rates/etc. We need someone in office who understands we can keep up this spending of money we do not have.; Reply to this comment

by rightvswrong January 13, 2012 11:15 AM EST

Our economy is falling apart! and CBS Producers are ignoring their hero who is taking us off this cliff...Follow this story:

General Electric is planning to move its 115-year-old X-ray division from Waukesha, Wis., to Beijing. In addition to moving the headquarters, the company will invest $2 billion in China and train more than 65 engineers and create six research centers. This is the same GE that made $5.1 billion in the United States last year. but paid no taxes-the same company that employs more people overseas than it does in the united States.

So let me get this straight. President Obama appointed GE Chairman Jeffery Immelt to head his commission on job creation (job czar). Immelt is supposed to help create jobs. I guess the President forgot to tell him in which country he was supposed to be creating those jobs.

If this doesn't show you the total lack of leadership of this President, I don't know what does. Please pass this information to others and think about it before you buy a GE product.

AND CBS NEWS...One wonders why NBC News(GE Affiliate) continues to get any ratings at all?

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by js2212 January 13, 2012 5:07 PM EST: repub, I'd say the same for the libs and D-e-m-o-c-retins. The libs and dems can't open their mouth without distorting some or all of the facts they cry about. Don't think you've cornered the market on intelligence and common sense. Far from it.


by raymailhot January 16, 2012 7:57 AM EST: http://www.ge.com/innovation/timeline/index.html

The GE sight says the were the first to develop the xray machine. But being they are liars, cheats and friends with the president why would anyone believe them?


by fiberglass3 January 13, 2012 9:12 AM EST: Tired_of -----------> Hey your Cap Lock is stuck again !

This has everything to do with Bush and the republican'ts.

Don't try and pretend that you have forgot who got us into this mess with all of the huge spending on wars ect.

Can you remember 2008?; Reply to this comment

by antiglobal5 January 13, 2012 9:09 AM EST

before anyone votes for Obama there are more questions that need to be asked about his citizenship. I never brought into the birther stuff but new information coming out is truly disturbing. Keep in mind if you are of the opinion that it does not matter where he was born your opinion does not matter, the Constitution states a president has to be a naturalized citizen of the U.S. so it is the law of the land.

This part of an email that is going around. Before you try and debunk it go to the supreme court website and look this up. If you are a true American who believe the Constitution is the law of the land you will not be happy. It does not prove he is not a citizen but does prove the administration does not want anyone looking into this question in any detail.

"Kagan was representing Obama in all the petitions to prove his citizenship. Now she may help rule on them. Folks, this is really ugly. Chicago Politics and the beat goes on and on and on. Once again the US Senate sold us out!
Now we know why Obama nominated Elana Kagan for the Supreme Court. Pull up the Supreme Courts website, go to the docket and search for Obama. She was the Solicitor General for all the suits against him filed with the Supreme Court to show proof of natural born citizenship. He owed her big time. All of the requests were denied of course. They were never heard. It just keeps getting deeper and deeper, doesn't it? The American people mean nothing any longer. It's all about payback time for those who compromised themselves to elect someone who really has no true right to even be there.
Here are some websites of the Supreme
Court Docket: You can look up some of these hearings and guess what?
Elana Kagan is the attorney representing Obama!
Check out these examples:http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/09-8857.htm

http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/09-6790.htm

http://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/09-724.htm"

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by antiglobal5 January 13, 2012 10:14 AM EST: Actually I voted for Obama. Keep LMAO fr as long as you can because if this issue gains traction before the election and it is found he was not born here you'll be one of the first one's crying how unfair and racist America is. As I mentioned before I was not buying into it before but now I am asking myself why are they trying to suppress every attempt to get proof of citizenship (and the document they produced is not proof of anything, we need an original document with a stamped seal).


by BlameRepublicanz January 13, 2012 8:58 AM EST: why don't conservatives want to pay for things we've already done? Why do they want us to DEFAULT so bad? Why can't they grasp the fact that raising the debt limit just covers our ***** on money we've ALREADY spent??? Why do Republicans claim the mantle of fiscal responsibility when their record shows nothing of the sort?; Reply to this comment

by ajvw January 13, 2012 7:41 AM EST

The budget in simple English:
Total tax revenue - $2,170,000,000,000
Federal Budget - $3,820,000,000,000
New debt - $1,650,000,000,000
National debt - $14,271,000,000,000
Announce budget cuts - $38,500,000,000

To turn this into a family budget just eliminate eight zeros:
Income - $21,700
Expenses - $38,200
New credit card debt - $16,500
Outstanding balance on credit card - $142,710
The budget cuts our politicians are proud of - $385

Blame it on Bush. Blame it on Obama. Blame it on Congress. It really doesn't matter, we have a serious problem. Throw them all out.

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by pirate2284 January 13, 2012 8:22 AM EST: i am with you!! when all personal income tax is just enough to cover that years deficit!!


by RealWorldNow January 13, 2012 11:20 AM EST: And those on the left keep spouting that the republicans don't want to pay for what we already spent... HHaaa haa... Insane ! the republicans want to stop overspending so we don't have to keep bumping into a ceiling that is there for a reason. We can't keep increasing it indefinitely. There are not against paying the bills, they are however against continued overspending.

by payasyougo January 13, 2012 7:37 AM EST

"Under the terms of the so-called Budget Control Act enacted last year"
-------
Don't forget which Republicans voted to put this in place last year. That's right, Republicans voted for this along side Democrats. Obama may have his signature on it but the current lot of Republicans and Democrats working together brought you this new limit.

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by pirate2284 January 13, 2012 8:24 AM EST: do you really think there is a difference??

by longtree-2009 January 13, 2012 2:04 AM EST

does anyone read some of these extremely lengthy comments or those with stats without citing the source? that aside, no one should be surprised that obama loves to spend, and spend. the man spent one billion to overthrow qaddafi which benefited U.S. citizens not at all.

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by pirate2284 January 13, 2012 8:26 AM EST: go to irs .gov it will show you whats brought in whats spent and who is paying for it. Hope you have a strong stomach.


by Tired_of_liars January 13, 2012 8:38 AM EST: Repub_means_CR-E-T-_-N,

So what kind of Whiner are you? Oh, the I will lie all the time kind

by credibility2 January 13, 2012 1:12 AM EST

Our president is out of control. He needs more money to fund handouts to the unions and lower classes...his constituents...it is, after all, time for him to delusionally think he'll be re-elected...God help us all...I wept for our nation when Bush was president (and didn't vote for him either time)...I'm doing the same under this guy...again, God help us all...

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