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 16.7 trillion dollar.In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and other lawmakers, Mr Lew said extraordinary measures are projected to be exhausted in the middle of October. He said 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 on hand on any given day. Mr Lew said operating the government with no borrowing authority, and with only the cash on hand on a given day, would place the United States in an unacceptable position.