U.S. borrowing tops $1.9 trillion so far this year

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

The federal government borrowed $1.9 trillion in the first 11 months of fiscal year 2024, including $380 billion in August, a startling amount as federal watchdogs sound the alarm on spending.

Those borrowing figures come from the the latest Monthly Treasury Statement from the Treasury Department.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, said that is roughly $6 billion borrowed per day this fiscal year

"America faces steep fiscal challenges in the very near future – next year alone, we’ll need to confront the multi-trillion dollar question of extending the 2017 tax cuts, we’ll need to raise the debt ceiling, and we’ll need to address the expiration of discretionary spending caps," she said. "In just three years, the national debt will be at a higher share of the economy than any point in history. And in less than a decade, the Social Security retirement trust fund will go insolvent, leaving beneficiaries with automatic and across-the-board cuts without action."

She said it's time for former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris to dig into the issues. 

"Given these pressing deadlines, it's more important than ever for the presidential candidates to take seriously the threats posed by high and rising debt and deficits," MacGuineas said. "Yet the debate earlier this week was another opportunity for fiscal clarity that fell flat – instead, we heard far more about what the candidates propose for new spending and tax cuts than we heard about how they will pay for them."

She said the candidates need to come up with a plan.

"Both elected officials and candidates for our nation's highest office will need to pivot towards the specifics on deficit reduction – and soon – if we’re ever going to see a more responsible federal budget become a reality," she said. 

The research arm of Congress has given similar warnings. A Congressional watchdog told President Joe Biden and Congress in February that the federal government is on an "unsustainable long-term fiscal path." The report from the U.S Government Accountability Office said federal spending levels couldn't be supported long term.

"The federal government faces an unsustainable long-term fiscal path," according to the U.S Government Accountability Office report. "We project that debt held by the public as a share of the economy will more than double over the next 30 years and will grow faster than the economy over the long term if current revenue and spending policies are not changed."

U.S. Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said Congress must take action.

"Congress and the administration must act to move the nation off the untenable long-term fiscal course on which it is currently operating," said Dodaro, who leads the GAO. "The federal debt level is growing at a rate that could threaten the vitality of our nation’s economy and the safety and well-being of the American people. Both spending and revenue issues need to be addressed as part of a comprehensive long-term plan."

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