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The US national debt has surpassed $35 trillion

According to the US Treasury Department, the figure hit a record high of $35.001 trillion for the first time in history on July 26.

The national debt is what the US government owes to its creditors. Money is borrowed to cover the budget deficit and to pay expenses.

The US national debt has two components: intragovernmental and public – in July 2024 their volume reached $7.2 trillion and $27.8 trillion, respectively. The first is due to US debt to domestic government entities, such as pension funds. The public national debt is owed to state and foreign governments, individuals, corporations, and the US Federal Reserve System.

The national debt grows due to an increase in the budget deficit. The budget is in deficit when expenditures exceed revenues. The last time revenues surpassed expenditures in the US was in 2001. To cover the deficit, the government can increase the national debt. According to data for 2023, the largest amount of funds was allocated to social security of the population (35%), followed by health care, and national defense.

In 2023, the US national debt ceiling set by law at $31.4 trillion was exceeded, and US President Joe Biden signed a law suspending the ceiling until January 1, 2025. The debt limit has been suspended before. On August 2, 2019, the limit was suspended for nearly two years until July 31, 2021.

You can learn more about the US national debt and budget spending in the TASS infographics.

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