The United States is on the verge of hitting its credit limit and Republicans are urging to raise America’s credit limit and soon. Republicans claim that raising the credit limit now will avoid a series of short-term measures that could cause more damage to the country. The raising of the credit limit was ultimately what sparked the almost government shut down earlier this year. Read more info after the jump.

@Julie1205

Republicans in the Congress signalled a willingness to raise the country’s credit limit “sooner rather than later” and avoid a series of short-term measures that could damage the economy.In the face of intense pressure from business groups for a prompt and tidy handling of a statutory increase in how much the Government can borrow, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner told reporters, “Why wait” until the last minute for Congress to pass legislation. He added that he would rather address the matter “sooner rather than later.The United States is on the verge of hitting its credit limit, which is now capped at $14.3 trillion.But Republicans did not step back from their demand that any increase in US borrowing authority be accompanied by serious spending reductions.House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said his fellow Republicans would not support a debt limit increase without firm steps to reduce a budget deficit that is projected to hit $1.4 trillion for just this year.”Most Americans think that’s a bad idea,” Cantor said.The fight over the size of the federal government, and the size of the US debt, has been raging since last year’s congressional campaigns and the outcome of White House-Congress deficit-reduction negotiations is certain to loom large in President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection effort.Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday convenes an inaugural meeting with key members of Congress searching for a middle-ground on curbing government spending. The aim is that in turn would build support for raising the debt ceiling to avert a US Government default on debt in early August — a development that global financial markets dread.House Republicans also said they oppose a series of short-term debt limit increases, aiming instead for a one-time hike if they win deficit-reduction controls.This latest approach by Republicans stands in contrast to early this year when they forced a series of temporary spending fixes to avert government shutdowns until a longer-term deal could be reached with Obama.A long-term debt limit increase could allow government borrowing through the November 2012 elections, under one plan being weighed in Congress.”I don’t think the American people want tiny bites of the apple” with short-term debt limit increases, Representative Jeb Hensarling, a member of the House Republican leadership, told Reuters. Republican leadership aides echoed that sentiment.But Democratic leaders who control the Senate are looking at the possibility of both short-term and longer-term options for the debt limit extension, depending on how negotiations go, one Democratic aide said.Word that Republican leaders in the House oppose short-term fixes to the debt ceiling likely would be cheered by the Obama administration and Wall Street investors, who warn that a roller-coaster debate like the one earlier this year on funding the government would rattle financial markets and hurt US credibility.Some analysts have worried aloud about rising government borrowing costs if Washington gives mixed signals about raising the debt limit. Higher interest rates paid to creditors, many of them in China, Japan and the United Kingdom, could hurt the US economic recovery and Obama’s 2012 re-election prospects.There are several efforts under way to reduce government deficits. Those include around $4.4 trillion in deficit cuts over a decade passed by Republicans in the House and Obama’s plan for $4 trillion in deficit-reductions over 12 years.—PBD