Vacationing Congressional leaders have asked President Obama to delay his official notification that he will borrow more money to pay the government's bills.

The United States is precariously close to its debt ceiling and the President was expected to request $1.2 trillion more in borrowing authority today, raising the nation's debt to $16.4 trillion. Once the President submits his request, Congress has 15 days to vote it down or it automatically goes through.

But with the House out of session until Jan. 17 and the Senate out until Jan. 23, congressional leaders have asked the president to hold off and he has obliged.

"The administration is in discussions with leaders in both houses to determine the best timing for submission of the certification and any subsequent votes in the two houses," said White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest.

A senior White House official said that the Treasury will use special accounting maneuvers to accommodate the delay and that the move will have no affect on the nation's credit worthiness. The president is expected to submit the request in a matter of days. The official, who asked not to be named, said that the increase is essentially a done deal and if Congress were to vote it down, the president would veto. However, the White House does not anticipate any hurdles on this issue.

-ABC's Ann Compton contribute to this report.