Debt-ceiling crisis: Congress’ phones jammed again

As he did earlier in the week, President Obama Friday urged Americans to contact members of Congress to push them to reach an bipartisan agreement to raise the nation’s debt ceiling. And again, those listening appear to have heeded the call.

Shortly after the president’s remarks, the House phone system was nearing capacity, according to an internal alert.

“Due to the high volume of external calls, House telephone circuits serving 202-225-XXXX phone numbers are near capacity resulting in outside callers occasionally getting busy signals,” the alert said. “Outbound calls are unaffected.”

After Obama and House Speaker John Boehner separately addressed the debt-ceiling crisis Monday, phone lines on Capitol Hill were similarly jammed and Web pages locked up.

At the peak of the surge, House offices received a combined 40,000 phone calls -- twice the typical volume.

“The response was overwhelming,” Obama said during remarks at the White House on Friday. He told those watching to “keep it up.”

“Make a phone call, send an email, tweet,” he said. “Keep the pressure on Washington.”