Since September 28, 2007, the United States national
debt has increased $3.83 billion per day, which now stands at just over $12 trillion. The national deficit continues to increase every year and now sits at fewer than $1.5 trillion. Every United States citizen’s debt is $39,286 and debt per taxpayer is calculated to be $111,232.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer recently said that Congress is contemplating to increase the US federal debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion, according to the
International Business Times. However, the figure has not been settled on. The current debt limit stands at $12.1 trillion; by law.
Earlier this year, it was expected that the increase wouldn't be by that much. Hoyer told
Politico said, “We’ve incurred this debt. We have to pay our bills.”
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, one of the proponents of the war tax to help pay for the war in Afghanistan, said, “It is December, We don’t really have a choice. The bill’s already been run up; the credit card has already been used. When you get the bill in the mail you need to pay it.”
In a bill that is headed to the House floor next week, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said she will add the legislation to a defense spending bill, reports the
Washington Post. “We need to have a vehicle so that the Senate can vote on it, and it is our intention to have something on the Department of Defense bill,” Pelosi said.
House Minority Leader John Boehner has said that the Republicans will block the legislation, “It will be an opportunity for us to point out the excessive spending that's going on in this Congress.” Boehner added that they will do this despite the possible consequences that could occur.
Other prominent Republicans, such as Senator Judd Gregg, said on Thursday, according to
Fox News, that the US government is broke and should consider a deficit reduction. In the mean time, Gregg and Democratic Senator Ken Conrad are attempting to implement legislation to appoint a special task force that could force speedy votes on deficit reduction in the next Congress after the 2010 elections.
