Total Public Outstanding Debt Is $28.4 Trillion
July 29, 2021—The United States government is expected to run out of borrowing authority on August 1. That is two to three months sooner than expected. As a result, beginning tomorrow, July 30, the Treasury will suspend sales of certain securities.
The debt limit, however, is actually not so simple. Significantly, the implications are larger than sales of securities.
Already Exceeding the $22 Trillion Limit
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote to Congress late last week, asking lawmakers to either increase the current limit or continue suspending it. She said that would “simply allow Treasury to pay for previously enacted expenditures.”
Reaching the debt limit occurs every few years. It means the government has borrowed up to the amount Congress has allowed it to borrow. This year, there’s an added twist.
Two things are especially noteworthy from Yellen’s letter to Congress. First, she did not mention the amount. When you look closer at the numbers, you can see there’s a rather large discrepancy in the numbers.
The current debt limit is $22 trillion. In 2019, Congress authorized the government to suspend having to stay within that amount until July 31, 2021.
The second thing is the government has already exceeded that amount. In fact, the government is $28.48 trillion in debt as of July 27, according to Treasury data.
The breach of the debt limit happened long ago. The government allowed that to happen because Congress had suspended — or waived — its authority to hold borrowing in check from late 2019 to the end of July 2021.
For Secretary Yellen’s letter to Congress, click here.
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