Topline
America’s national debt surpassed $31 trillion for the first time this week, the Treasury Department said Tuesday, as the country battles high inflation and contends with rising interest rates.
A statue of the first United States Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton stands in front of … [+]
Key Facts
According to Treasury Department data published Tuesday, the U.S. gross national debt closed at $31.1 trillion Monday, after passing the $30 trillion mark in late January.
For now, monthly federal deficits are now far smaller than they were during the pandemic, and for for two months this year—January and April—the government even ran a surplus.
What To Watch For
Congress must pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling—a cap on total borrowing that currently sits at just below $3.14 trillion—by early next year to avoid a government default, according to estimates. Lawmakers last voted to raise the federal borrowing limit by an additional $2.5 trillion in 2021. If Republicans take control of the House or the Senate before the deadline, it could result in a partisan battle over another debt ceiling hike.
Key Background
Federal borrowing reached record levels during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the government tried to support the economy amid lockdowns, layoffs and supply chain disruptions. The national debt reached $30 trillion by late January, whereas at the end of 2019, before alarms sounded over the Covid-19 pandemic, total stood at $22.7 trillion. When former President Barack Obama took office in 2009, the outstanding debt was $10.6 trillion.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/10/04/us-national-debt-eclipses-31-trillion-for-first-time/