The Treasury Building is seen in Washington on May 4, 2021. The U.S. Treasury has announced that the nation’s gross national debt has surpassed $34 trillion. The record high comes after Republican lawmakers and the White House had agreed to temporarily lift the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt limit last year after the government ran up against its legal borrowing capacity and needed to implement “extraordinary measures” to avoid a default.
The federal government has paid north of $1 trillion in gross interest payments on its debt for fiscal 2024 as the national debt continues to climb.
The Treasury Department said in a recent statement that the U.S. paid about $1.05 trillion in gross interest on treasury debt securities in the current fiscal year. The figure is estimated to reach roughly $1.16 trillion in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30.
By contrast, the Treasury Department said total outlays for net interest reached $843 billion in fiscal 2024, topping other big ticket items like national defense, for which outlays have reached $798 billion so far. Outlays were still higher, however, for two other highlighted functions: Social Security and Medicare.
When looking at the interest costs, fiscal hawks typically look at net interest versus gross interest on Treasury Department securities, as the latter also includes intragovernmental payments.
However, the $1 trillion mark has gotten attention; and according to CNBC, it marks the first time that gross interest payments have topped the figure, which also marks a 30 percent jump from the previous year.
The Hill has reached out to the Treasury Department for confirmation.
The development comes in the backdrop of a heated fight over government funding in Washington ahead of a looming shutdown deadline later this month.
House Republicans prepared for a major opening salvo in a budget showdown with Democrats last week, pushing to pass a partisan stopgap measure that would keep the government funded through next year, along with a proof-of-citizenship voting bill backed by former President Trump that was seen as dead-on arrival in the Senate.
However, GOP leadership had to scrap plans for a vote amid resistance from members of various corners of the conference, including opposition from hard-line conservatives demanding more be done to curb government spending while citing the national debt, which sits at more than $35 trillion.
Reprinted from “The Hill”
