The U.S. national debt rose to a staggering $34 trillion for the first time last week, just three months after it surpassed $33 trillion, according to data published by the Treasury Department.
Along with the steady increase in America’s national debt, the federal government’s borrowing costs on the debt are expected to triple over the next decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Budget, Fox Business reported. Debt payments could rise from the current $475 billion to $1.4 trillion by fiscal year 2032 and $5.4 trillion by 2053. For comparison, in fiscal year 2022, the U.S. spent $944 billion on Medicare, $805 billion on Medicaid, and $1.2 trillion on Social Security.
“The national debt is the greatest threat to America’s national security, and the current addiction to reckless spending cannot be sustained,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). “Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have a responsibility to reduce spending and finally put America on path towards fiscal sanity.”
The national debt is equal to $100,000 for every adult and child in the U.S., and the debt-to-GDP ratio is the highest it has been since right after World War II, Mississippi State Auditor Shad White said.
Responding to news of the national debt’s new record, the White House blamed Republicans, claiming that tax breaks for corporations have “overwhelmingly” led to the increase in debt.
“This is the trickle-down debt — driven overwhelmingly by repeated Republican giveaways skewed to big corporations and the wealthy,” said White House Assistant Press Secretary Michael Kikukawa in a statement to Fox Business. Kikukawa added that Biden has a plan to cut the deficit by $2.5 trillion by “making the wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share and cutting wasteful spending on special interests.”
The Biden administration was also on the receiving end of criticism for its fiscal policy. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) slammed Biden for “destroying our country with his reckless spending.”
“It took @JoeBiden just 105 days (Sept. 15-Dec. 29) to dig American taxpayers another TRILLION deeper into debt. When Biden took office, the national debt was $27 trillion. Today it’s $34 trillion,” Scott posted on X.
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The national debt has increased under each president since Calvin Coolidge, with the largest percentage increases coming under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
Congress has just weeks to agree on new department budgets after the House and Senate passed a stopgap spending bill in November, averting a government shutdown.