
Addressing Concerns about the Debt Ceiling
As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, Congress and President Biden have not yet reached an agreement to prevent a crisis that could occur if the debt ceiling is not raised by early June. The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of money the U.S. Treasury is permitted to borrow to pay for U.S. government obligations such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, military spending, interest payments, and tax refunds. An increase of this limit is not an authorization of new spending; rather, it gives the government the ability to fulfill already existing legal obligations by issuing new debt such as Treasury bills, bonds, and notes.