{ "id": "R41633", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R41633", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 441928, "date": "2015-03-27", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T19:18:45.787357", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": "The gross federal debt, which represents the federal government\u2019s total outstanding debt, consists of (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. \nTreasury has yet to face a situation in which it was unable to pay its obligations as a result of reaching the debt limit. In the past, the debt limit has always been raised before the debt reached the limit. However, on several occasions Treasury took extraordinary actions to avoid reaching the limit which, as a result, affected the operations of certain programs. If the Secretary of the Treasury determines that the issuance of obligations of the United States may not be made without exceeding the public debt limit, Treasury can make use of \u201cextraordinary measures.\u201d Some of these measures require the Treasury Secretary to authorize a debt issuance suspension period. \nSince 2011, the debt limit has been increased through provisions of four pieces of legislation. The debt limit was increased on August 2, 2011, as part of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25). The BCA also provided for two additional debt limit increases, which occurred in September 2011 and January 2012. On February 4, 2013, the statutory debt limit was suspended through May 18, 2013, as part of the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-3). On October 17, 2013, the debt limit was suspended again through February 7, 2014, as part of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014 (P.L. 113-46). On February 15, 2014, the debt limit was suspended for a third time, through March 15, 2015, as part of the Temporary Debt Limit Extension Act (P.L. 113-83). Between the enactment of each of these legislative measures, Treasury used extraordinary measures to continue financing obligations. On May 19, 2013, February 8, 2014, and March 16, 2015, the debt limit was reinstated at a level which accommodated borrowing incurred during the suspension periods.\nBudget outlays and revenue collections along with the funds contained in the extraordinary measures will affect the timing of when the debt limit is reached. If the debt limit is reached and Treasury is no longer able to issue federal debt, federal outlays 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. \nIt is extremely difficult for Congress to effectively influence short-term fiscal and budgetary policy through action on legislation adjusting the debt limit. The need to raise (or lower) the limit during a session of Congress is driven by previous decisions regarding revenues and spending stemming from legislation enacted earlier in the session or in prior years. Nevertheless, the consideration of debt limit legislation often is viewed as an opportunity to reexamine fiscal and budgetary policy. Consequently, House and Senate action on legislation adjusting the debt limit is often complicated, hindered by policy disagreements, and subject to delay.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R41633", "sha1": "dc6f309c61ab544b3eac97d4a25fb738a077946c", "filename": "files/20150327_R41633_dc6f309c61ab544b3eac97d4a25fb738a077946c.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R41633", "sha1": "64745b8219b8dcf347eb3d012ce51f54021bb07e", "filename": "files/20150327_R41633_64745b8219b8dcf347eb3d012ce51f54021bb07e.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4514, "name": "Fiscal Policy Considerations" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc272016/", "id": "R41633_2013Nov21", "date": "2013-11-21", "retrieved": "2014-02-03T19:46:03", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": "This report examines the possibility of the federal government reaching its statutory debt limit and not raising it, with a particular focus on government operations. First, the report explains the nature of the federal government's debt, the processes associated with federal borrowing, and historical events that may influence prospective actions. It also includes an analysis of what could happen if the federal government may no longer issue debt, has exhausted alternative sources of cash, and, therefore, depends on incoming receipts or other sources of funds to provide any cash needed to liquidate federal obligations.2 Finally, this report lays out considerations for increasing the debt limit under current policy and what impact fiscal policy could have on the debt limit going forward.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20131121_R41633_5f4547c662eb87413d1af42e41e8ae1b65680075.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20131121_R41633_5f4547c662eb87413d1af42e41e8ae1b65680075.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Federal debt", "name": "Federal debt" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Public debt", "name": "Public debt" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Budget deficits", "name": "Budget deficits" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Deficit reduction", "name": "Deficit reduction" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Deficit financing", "name": "Deficit financing" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc227708/", "id": "R41633_2013Sep19", "date": "2013-09-19", "retrieved": "2013-11-05T18:07:05", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": "This report examines the possibility of the federal government reaching its statutory debt limit and not raising it, with a particular focus on government operations. First, the report explains the nature of the federal government's debt, the processes associated with federal borrowing, and historical events that may influence prospective actions. It also includes an analysis of what could happen if the federal government may no longer issue debt, has exhausted alternative sources of cash, and, therefore, depends on incoming receipts or other sources of funds to provide any cash needed to liquidate federal obligations.2 Finally, this report lays out considerations for increasing the debt limit under current policy and what impact fiscal policy could have on the debt limit going forward.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130919_R41633_c21e3598a6b5228bcad511c79b4170390cb906a9.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130919_R41633_c21e3598a6b5228bcad511c79b4170390cb906a9.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Federal debt", "name": "Federal debt" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Public debt", "name": "Public debt" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Budget deficits", "name": "Budget deficits" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Deficit reduction", "name": "Deficit reduction" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Deficit financing", "name": "Deficit financing" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc820144/", "id": "R41633_2013Jan04", "date": "2013-01-04", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130104_R41633_ab74225faaa3bb7bde6de8a7425580c8d9311f56.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130104_R41633_ab74225faaa3bb7bde6de8a7425580c8d9311f56.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc86573/", "id": "R41633_2012May31", "date": "2012-05-31", "retrieved": "2012-06-15T10:07:48", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": "The gross federal debt, which represents the federal government'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. The federal debt limit currently stands at $14,294 billion.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120531_R41633_b51e9ff7a15512f3249833ed187894a2f6a4dca6.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120531_R41633_b51e9ff7a15512f3249833ed187894a2f6a4dca6.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Federal debt", "name": "Federal debt" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Public debt", "name": "Public debt" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Budget deficits", "name": "Budget deficits" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Deficit reduction", "name": "Deficit reduction" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Deficit financing", "name": "Deficit financing" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc817342/", "id": "R41633_2011Jul27", "date": "2011-07-27", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110727_R41633_90c2adbf831bbaeae6bb5935f5e709a01f9c1ebb.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110727_R41633_90c2adbf831bbaeae6bb5935f5e709a01f9c1ebb.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc812298/", "id": "R41633_2011Jun03", "date": "2011-06-03", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110603_R41633_26086c130d0888ebed8cfb41e83ea90934d32dc3.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110603_R41633_26086c130d0888ebed8cfb41e83ea90934d32dc3.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc819603/", "id": "R41633_2011May18", "date": "2011-05-18", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110518_R41633_d67bc78573dcb2d2017523817f80d1a3d96ceaa7.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110518_R41633_d67bc78573dcb2d2017523817f80d1a3d96ceaa7.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc40116/", "id": "R41633_2011April27", "date": "2011-04-27", "retrieved": "2011-08-27T10:13:38", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": "This report examines the possibility of the federal government reaching its statutory debt limit and not raising it, with a particular focus on government operations. First, the report explains the nature of the federal government's debt, the processes associated with federal borrowing, and historical events that may influence prospective actions. It also includes an analysis of what could happen if the federal government may no longer issue debt, has exhausted alternative sources of cash, and, therefore, depends on incoming receipts or other sources of funds to provide any cash needed to liquidate federal obligations. Finally this report lays out considerations for increasing the debt limit under current policy and what impact fiscal policy could have on the debt limit going forward.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110427_R41633_5e4327dd4ed4883a6afe9a8a165bfd9c9015a0ab.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110427_R41633_5e4327dd4ed4883a6afe9a8a165bfd9c9015a0ab.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Debt", "name": "Debt" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Public debt", "name": "Public debt" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Debt limit", "name": "Debt limit" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Fiscal policy", "name": "Fiscal policy" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc103123/", "id": "R41633_2011Feb11", "date": "2011-02-11", "retrieved": "2012-09-19T20:16:14", "title": "Reaching the Debt Limit: Background and Potential Effects on Government Operations", "summary": "This report examines the possibility of the federal government reaching its statutory debt limit and not raising it, with a particular focus on government operations. First, the report explains the nature of the federal government's debt, the processes associated with federal borrowing, and historical events that may influence prospective actions. It also includes an analysis of what could happen if the federal government may no longer issue debt, has exhausted alternative sources of cash, and, therefore, depends on incoming receipts or other sources of funds to provide any cash needed to liquidate federal obligations. 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