VOA慢速英语2021--美国的债务上限是多少？

American President Joe Biden again asked Congress to lift the United States debt limit after a meeting Wednesday with the nation's business leaders.

The White House Council of Economic Advisors¹ warned before the meeting that the United States government will default on its obligations if Congress does not raise the debt limit by October 18.

A default is a failure to meet the legal obligations of a loan.

The council said millions of Americans might not receive their payments from Social Security and government healthcare. A default could also affect national defense² and pandemic services.

Since many countries depend on the U.S. monetary³ policy, it said a default "would likely cause credit markets worldwide to freeze up and stock markets to plunge⁴. Employers around the world would likely have to begin laying off workers."

What is the debt limit?

Like some of us, governments sometimes spend more money than they receive from taxes. So, they have to borrow money by issuing bonds, or debts, to be repaid later.

In the U.S., Congress has the power to set a debt limit. It is "the maximum amount of debt that the Department of the Treasury⁵ can issue to the public or to other federal agencies."

Since 1960, Congress has changed the debt limit 78 times under both Republican and Democratic administrations to pay for government operations.

Raising the debt limit does not mean that Treasury has more money to spend. It only permits the U.S. government to "finance existing legal obligations." When the limit is reached, the Treasury cannot issue more debt or borrow more money.

What is the current situation?

In August 2019, the U.S. Congress passed a budget deal, with support from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, that raised spending and suspended the debt limit for two years.

Under the agreement, the money borrowed during the suspension of the debt limit will be added to the previous limit of $22 trillion. An additional $6.5 trillion had been borrowed since the 2019 tax cuts and pandemic spending, raising the nation's debt limit to $28.5 trillion.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the federal government has a deficit⁶ of $2.7 trillion for the budget year ending in September 2021. The government also ran up deficits⁷ each year from 2016 to 2020.

Technically⁸, the U.S. has already reached its debt limit at the end of July as agreed to in the 2019 budget deal. Once the debt limit is reached, the U.S. cannot borrow more money to pay its bills. But Treasury could and has used "extraordinary measures" like delaying some payments to employees' retirement⁹ funds to avoid a default.

Unless Congress acts to raise the debt limit, the Bipartisan Policy Center projects that the U.S. will most likely reach the limit between October 15 and November 4. The center added that a default would likely raise borrowing costs as investors¹⁰ will demand a higher rate of return on U.S. debts. Even a short-term default, it said, could also threaten the country's current economic recovery.

Why does the U.S. have a debt limit?

Before World War I, the U.S. Congress permitted borrowing only for special reasons, such as the building of the Panama Canal. In 1917, Congress passed a law that set a debt limit. It gave Treasury some flexibility¹¹ in dealing¹² with the national debt to pay for the war.

The U.S. is one of few countries around the world with a debt limit. Denmark is often noted¹³ as another developed country with a debt limit. But Denmark often sets its borrowing limit so high that a default is not really possible.

For many years in the U.S., raising the debt limit was not an issue. The Republican Party has since only supported increase while it has controlled the White House. It has argued against raising the limit under Democratic administrations.

Earlier this year, Democratic Congressman¹⁴ Bill Foster of Illinois introduced a bill to end the debt limit. The bill, however, is not guaranteed to pass with the currently divided legislature.

Late on Wednesday, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told Democrats¹⁵ he would permit an emergency debt limit extension into December to avoid a default. If the offer is accepted, the U.S. will have to deal with the debt limit again by the end of the year.

Words in This Story

obligation - n. something that you must do

plunge - v. drop suddenly

maximum - n. the highest number that is permitted

flexibility - n. ability to change things easily

1 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

4 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

7 deficits   

n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 )；赤字；亏空；亏损

参考例句：

• The Ministry of Finance consistently overestimated its budget deficits. 财政部一贯高估预算赤字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Many of the world's farmers are also incurring economic deficits. 世界上许多农民还在遭受经济上的亏损。 来自辞典例句

8 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

9 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

11 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

13 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

14 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

15 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》