Mr Lew has warned that failure to act soon could result in significant disruptions to US economy
The US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has said that the country will reach its debt limit by mid-October and called on Congress to act "as soon as possible" to avoid such a situation.
The government will not be able to borrow if the limit is not raised.
He warned that in such a case it will be unable to meet obligations such as social security payments, military salaries and Medicare reimbursements.
The country's borrowing limit is currently capped at $16.7tn (£10.7tn).
"Extraordinary measures are projected to be exhausted in the middle of October," Mr Lew said in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and other lawmakers.
"At that point, the US will have reached the limit of its borrowing authority, and Treasury would be left to fund the government with only the cash we have on hand on any given day," he said.
The cash balance at that time is forecast to be about $50bn, which Mr Lew said, would be "insufficient to cover net expenditures for an extended period of time".
He said: "Operating the government with no borrowing authority, and with only the cash on had on a given day, would place the United States in an unacceptable position."
There have been tense debates between the White House and congressional Republicans over the government's debt ceiling, spending cuts, and other fiscal matters.
Source: BBC News - Business http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23845905#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa
