U.S. debt ceiling reached

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury announced Thursday the statutory debt ceiling of $7.4 trillion has been reached.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Treasury Secretary John Snow said, "Given current projections, it is imperative that the Congress take action to increase the debt limit by mid-November, at which time all of our previously used prudent and legal actions to avoid breaching the statutory debt limit will be exhausted."

Treasury had been warning over the past few weeks that the federal government will be reaching its debt limit by mid-October.

Democrats have strongly opposed increasing the ceiling, and House member John Spratt, D-S.C., said Thursday the fact that the limit was reached "is the latest in bad fiscal news resulting from Republican mismanagement of the budget."