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Occupy DC protesters and religious leaders march past the US Treasury on their way to the Capitol to deliver a giant "Golden Calf", in Washington, Dec. 15. The calf is a replica of the bull statue on Wall Street in New York. (TOBY JORRIN/AFP/Getty Images)
The United States is nearing its debt limit and will likely hit it during the first week of January, a senior Department of Treasury official told the media in a conference on Tuesday.
As a result, the Obama administration will seek a $1.2 trillion increase in the debt limit, reported Dow Jones Newswires, citing a Treasury official who wished not to be named.
Right now, the U.S. debt limit is $15.19 trillion. If the White House gets its wish, an increase would raise it to $16.39 trillion, the news agency said.
Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, Congress has 15 days to pass a joint resolution to disapprove raising the debt ceiling if it is within $100 billion of reaching it. Congressional disapproval can be vetoed by the president.
The Democratic Party-led Senate blocked a $500 billion increase in the debt limit in September, which was later followed up by a Republican-led House resolution to reject raising the ceiling.
