On Monday, March 16^th, the statutory limit on the federal debt was reached. As a result, the Department of the Treasury will have to resort to “extraordinary measures” to finance the federal government’s obligations without missing payments or defaulting on existing debts. Based on current borrowing needs, and with large cash inflows expected due to April tax payments, the federal government should be able make timely payments, even with the March 16 debt limit in place, through October or possibly into November.

Unfortunately, the need to address the debt limit has been a persistent challenge during the Obama Administration. The president has signed into law 9 debt limit increases or suspensions since taking office. This reflects the tremendous build-up in debt under the current administration: $7.5 trillion. Additionally, under the president’s own budget, this is set to increase by another $8 trillion by 2025.