While US politicians are still tussling over how to raise the country's debt ceiling, President Barack Obama has turned to the public for help in pushing through a deal on its debt. He wants Americans to put pressure on Congress to find a compromise.

­In a televised national address Barack Obama has blamed Republicans in the House of Representatives for the lack of a deal to avoid a US national default and appealed to the public, urging people to contact lawmakers and demand "a balanced approach" to reducing federal deficits.

"The American people may have voted for divided government, but they didn't vote for a dysfunctional government," the president said in a prime-time speech.

Obama warned that failing to raise the debt ceiling will cause incalculable economic damage and said that the Republican plan unveiled by House Speaker John Boehner would not solve the problem, but would only postpone the default by six months.

In a response to Obama’s statement, Boehner said that “the president wanted a blank check six months ago, and he wants a blank check today. That is just not going to happen," as cited by the Associated Press.

John Boehner also said the US cannot default and the crisis would be resolved if the president were to sign a new Republican plan to be voted on in the House this week.

Boehner believes the solution to the debt crisis is not that complicated, you just have to “spend less than you take in.”

Congress has just a week until deadline to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit before it runs out of money, risking a downgrade of the US credit rating and upgrade of interest rates.