The U.S. national debt recorded its third “depressing achievement” in the past 12 months, topping $34 trillion for the first time to close out 2023, according to the latest Treasury Department Debt to the Penny data.
On Dec. 29, 2023, the debt climbed about $90 billion in one day, to exceed $34.001 trillion. It took Washington roughly three months to add $1 trillion to the gross federal debt and six months to amass $2 trillion.
In a single year, the federal government’s total public debt outstanding rocketed by about $2.65 trillion. By comparison, it took the United States more than 200 years to cross the $1 trillion mark in October 1981.
This is “truly a depressing ‘achievement,’” said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB).
“Though our level of debt is dangerous for both our economy and for national security, America just cannot stop borrowing,” she said in a statement. “There is not a single economic reason to add to the debt at the rate we are, but sadly our political leaders are unwilling to make the changes we need to turn the fiscal situation around.”
The amount of red ink flooding the country is larger than the combined economies of China, Germany, India, Japan, and the UK, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.
“Being irresponsible with our budget is simply not fair to our kids and grandkids, who will inherit this debt,” a report by the fiscally conservative think tank states.
A plethora of short- and long-term projections suggest that the fiscal shortfalls will be exacerbated for many years.
In the coming months, the Treasury forecasts that it'll borrow roughly $1 trillion to fund higher budget deficits and manage growing interest costs. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected this past summer that the national debt will nearly double and account for 183 percent of gross domestic product by 2053.
“Such high and rising debt would slow economic growth, push up interest payments to foreign holders of U.S. debt, and pose significant risks to the fiscal and economic outlook; it could also cause lawmakers to feel more constrained in their policy choices,” the nonpartisan watchdog wrote in its 2023 Long-Term Budget Outlook report.
According to President Joe Biden’s 2024 budget, the federal deficit is expected to be close to $1.9 trillion this year. The annual budget gap is predicted to remain above $2 trillion after 2030.
Reaction in Washington
Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), vice chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, anticipates that the national debt will soar past $36 trillion by the end of fiscal year 2024.“By my calculations, it’s only going to get worse,” Mr. Schweikert wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We’re borrowing over $106,000 per second this fiscal year. At this rate, we’ll end FY24 with our national debt soaring past $36 TRILLION. The financial wheels have fallen off.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the national debt remains “the greatest threat to America’s national security,” saying that current spending levels “cannot be sustained.”
“Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have a responsibility to reduce spending and finally put America on path toward fiscal sanity,” he wrote on X.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Col.) called the ballooning national debt an “albatross around every American citizen’s neck.”
Others, including Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), demanded changes to how the U.S. government manages taxpayer dollars.
“This is out of control. Congress needs to make some SERIOUS changes to how we manage this country’s money, and the deadline to pass a budget is just around the corner,” Mr. Burchett said.
President Biden has repeatedly claimed that he cut the national debt in half in his first two years in office.
The current administration has proposed various measures to raise more federal revenue. Over the past year, White House officials have discussed a 25 percent billionaire tax that they say would raise $440 billion over the next decade.
“Imagine what we could do if we just made billionaires pay their taxes like everyone else,” President Biden’s social media communications team wrote on X.
Bracing for a Shutdown
Lawmakers are facing two midnight deadlines over the next month for funding federal department budgets: Jan. 19 and Feb. 2.The first deadline is to approve an appropriations bill that funds several departments, including Agriculture, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Veterans Affairs. The second date concerns appropriations legislation to fund the Defense, Homeland Security, and Interior departments, as well as state-foreign operations programs.
Should officials miss these deadlines, the U.S. government could experience a partial or full shutdown, possibly disrupting nonessential services and causing payment delays.
It’s widely expected that Washington will avert a government shutdown, with the odds of closing down the nation’s capital at about 15 percent.
