The U.S. national debt for the past 70 days has been stuck at exactly $16,699,396,000,000,CNSNews.com reports, citing the Daily Treasury Statement for July 26.
“That is approximately $25 million below the legal limit of $16,699,421,095,673.60 that Congress has imposed on the debt,” the report notes.
Fed debt subject to the legal limits imposed by Congress first hit the $16.7B mark on May 17. The national debt has for every business day since then been exactly $16,699,396,000,000.00.
“If the debt had increased by even $30 million at any time during those 70 days, it would have exceeded the statutory limit,” the report conceded.
However, according to the Treasury, the debt hasn’t budged an inch. It has been stuck at exactly $16,699,396,000,000:
But just because the feds say the national debt hasn’t budged an inch in 70 days, it doesn’t mean Treasury hasn’t been selling bonds that far exceed the value of the bonds it is redeeming.
Indeed, the feds have already redeemed roughly $6,128,368,000,000 since the beginning of its fiscal year (Oct. 1), according to the agency’s July 26 statement.
“But, at the same time,” the CNSNews.com report notes, “the Treasury had sold an additional $6,759,148,000,000.00 bills, note and bonds–for a net increase of $630,780,000,000.00 for the year.”
“Thus, the value of U.S. Treasury debt instruments circulating in the public has increased $53.267 billion since May 17 — even though the Treasury says the debt has remained exactly at $16,699,396,000,000.00 during that time,” it adds.
Wait, how could U.S. Treasury securities increase by roughly $53B since May 17 while the debt remains unchanged at $16,699,396,000,000?
Simple: Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on May 17 informed House Speaker John Boehner the Treasury would use a “set of extraordinary measures” to allow the agency to borrow within the legal limit set by Congress.
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