- The US Treasury Department said that the US national debt has reached a historic milestone by exceeding $33 trillion for the first time.
- This level was reached less than two weeks before the federal government faced a potential shutdown due to a lack of funding authorization.
- The debt issue is at the heart of the stalemate in Congress over a spending bill that would support the government until the next funding cycle.
The US Treasury Department building in Washington, D.C., on January 19, 2023.
Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Washington – National religion The United States has reached a historic milestone of surpassing $33 trillion for the first time, less than two weeks before the federal government faces a potential shutdown due to a lack of funding authorization.
The debt, which is equivalent to the amount of money borrowed by the federal government to cover operating expenses, reached $33.04 trillion on Monday, according to bank data. Treasury Department.
The department said a nearly 50% increase in federal spending between fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2021 contributed to the debt exceeding $33 trillion.
Tax cuts, stimulus programs and lower tax revenues as a result of widespread unemployment during the Covid-19 pandemic were factors that pushed government borrowing to new heights.
The debt issue is at the heart of the stalemate in Congress over a spending bill that would support the government until the next funding cycle.
Republican lawmakers are pushing for spending cuts, while Democrats support President Joe Biden’s programs, such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which is estimated to cost more than $1 trillion over the next decade, according to the University of Pennsylvania. Budget model.
House Republicans on Sunday released their own invoice To fund the government through Oct. 31 in exchange for an 8% cut in domestic programs with national security exceptions, according to NBC News.
But this bill is not expected to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.
A White House spokesperson told CNBC that the debt surge was driven by trillions of dollars in Republican tax cuts “skewed in favor of the wealthy and big corporations” over the past 20 years.
“Congressional Republicans want to double down on distribution by extending President (Donald) Trump’s tax cuts and repealing President Biden’s corporate tax reforms,” said Michael Kikukawa, assistant press secretary for the White House.
Kikukawa added that Biden’s policies to require rich and large corporations to pay their fair share in taxes and cut subsidies for oil and pharmaceutical companies would reduce the deficit by $2.5 trillion if approved.
Congress has until September 30 to pass the spending bill.
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