The U.S. Government Reached its Debt Limit. Now What?

1A

NPR

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4.3 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2023

⏱️ 36 minutes

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Summary

The government has reached its "debt limit:" the cap on borrowing that, if breached, could send the U.S. and global financial markets into a tailspin.

To avert such a crisis, Congress must vote to raise the debt ceiling and increase the amount the government is able to borrow.

But despite urgent pleas from Democrats, House Republicans are stalling on the vote and using their narrow majority to demand spending cuts.

How soon can we expect Congress to negotiate and pass a debt limit increase? What will our country's financial future look like if the stalemate drags on?

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The U.S. government has hit its debt limit.
0:10.3	That's the cap on what the government is allowed to borrow to finance its spending.
0:14.7	Since 1960, Congress has voted nearly 80 times to raise or extend the debt limit.
0:20.2	But current negotiations in Congress have stalled, with House Republicans demanding spending
0:24.7	cuts in exchange for their votes.
0:26.8	And because they have a slim majority, this year's fight might get rough.
0:31.5	Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says we have now begun using extraordinary measures to
0:36.2	avoid debt default.
0:38.0	But even those measures will run out by June if Congress doesn't fix the problem, and
0:42.7	that might plunge the global economy into a recession.
0:45.8	I'm Celeste Headley in for Gen White, you're listening to the 1A podcast, where we get
0:49.9	to the heart of the story.
0:51.4	Today we ask, how will the showdown over the debt limit end?
0:55.5	And what does the fiscal future of our country look like?
0:58.2	That and more after the break.
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	...

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