Snow urges US Congress to raise the debt ceiling

US Treasury Secretary John Snow on Monday urged the Congress to raise the government borrowing authority and said that the United States could face the prospect of not being able to pay its bills this fall unless Congress raises the debt ceiling.

In a letter to the US House of Representatives and Senate, Snowsaid that the US government is expected to reach the current statutory ceiling on the national debt by late September or early October.

Even if Treasury takes steps to juggle accounts to stay just under the limit to avoid defaulting on the debt, "we can finance government operations no longer than mid-to-late November," Snow said in the letter.

He urged Congress to raise the debt limit as soon as possible but did not suggest a specific amount.

The surging US national debt resulted from the soaring government budget deficit in the past years. The White House said last week that the federal budget deficit will hit a record high of 445 billion dollars this fiscal year ending on September 30.

The US Congress just raise the debt ceiling in May, 2003, and the US government's borrowing authority was increased by a record 984 billion dollars to a record high of 7.4 trillion US dollars.

Source: Xinhua