Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations

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Our Price: $20.00

By Mindy R. Levit (ed)
Year: 2012
Pages: 26
Binding Paperback
ISBN 978-1-4578-3406-6

Product Code: 1457834065

Description

The gross federal debt, which represents the federal governmentäó»s total outstanding debt, consists of two types of debt: (1) debt held by the public and (2) debt held in government accounts, also known as intragovernmental debt. Federal government borrowing increases for two primary reasons: (1) budget deficits and (2) investments of any federal government account surpluses in Treasury securities, as required by law. Nearly all of this debt is subject to the statutory limit. In May 2012 the federal debt limit stood at $16,394 billion. Under current law, the federal government will have to issue an additional $402 billion in debt on net above the current statutory limit to finance all obligations for FY2013. If the debt limit is reached and Treasury is no longer able to issue federal debt, federal spending would have to be decreased or federal revenues would have to be increased by a corresponding amount to cover the gap in what cannot be borrowed. Contents of this report: Federal Government Debt and the Debt Limit; The Debt Limit and the Treasury; Potential Implications of Reaching and Not Raising the Debt Limit; Considerations for the Current Debt Limit Debate; Implications of Future Federal Debt on the Debt Limit; Appendix: Detailed History on Past Treasury Actions During Previous Debt Limit Crises. This is a print on demand report.

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