Under an agreement struck in August regarding the government’s debt limit, the cap is automatically raised unless Congress chooses to vote for clocking the debt-ceiling extension. To serve the nation’s borrowing needs into the year 2013, the deal also called for raising the debt ceiling by $2 trillion.
As part of this spending negotiation, President Obama is expected to ask for authority to increase the nation’s borrowing limit by $1.2 trillion. The debt limit currently hovers above $15 trillion and with the president’s request, will increase to about $16.3 trillion.
Read the full Chicago Tribune article here.